POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-BASED MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR THE DETECTION OF INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE-ASSOCIATED POINT MUTATIONS AND THEIR POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

The design of three PCR-based monitoring techniques for the genotyping of cyclodiene-resistant insects are described: (1) PCR followed by a diagnostic restriction enzyme digest or PCR/REN, (2) PCR amplification of specific alleles or PASA and (3) single-stranded conformational polymorphism analysis of PCR-amplified DNA or SSCP. The relative disadvantages and potential applications of each of these techniques are discussed and compared to the use of insecticide bioassays. It is concluded that, although such techniques will probably never replace bioassays for routine monitoring, they can more readily address several fundamental questions relating to the evolution and spread of specific resistance alleles in insect populations.