Published in Biology, this article details the development of a simple detection system that can quickly tell apart four important thrips species that attack crops in southern China; including one globally invasive species; the western flower thrips.
To address the practical limitations of high taxonomic diversity and pronounced morphological similarity of thrips communities, the authors established a species-specific molecular identification framework targeting the mitochondrial COI region, which enables reproducible, target-specific amplification in both individual and mixed-species samples. This polymorphism-guided framework can be scalable to other minute pests and further adapted to visual isothermal amplification or CRISPR-based platforms, thereby providing a field-compatible basis for developing instrument-free, field-adaptable molecular diagnostics that support earlier and more targeted pest management decisions.
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