Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis) Population Genomics As a Tool for Monitoring and Management

Despite successful eradication from most of the US cotton belt, the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman) remains a major pest of cotton in northern Mexico and continues to infest areas of Texas along the border with Mexico.  Weevils from populations in Mexico may act as source populations for re-introductions of the pest to southern Texas and other states – or vice versa.  Using next-generation sequencing (ddRAD-seq), we have resolved the population genomic structure of the BW in northern Mexico and determined relationships between those populations and those occurring in south Texas.  Here, we discuss mechanisms of differentiation between populations, and make recommendations to management based on our new knowledge of the population dynamics in this species.