Bessy Lou L.

Espina September 2, 2010

ENG10 T-2R Introduction

Mitosis and Meiosis in Cells of the Asian Corn Borer (Ostrinia

furnacalis Guenee)

Corn is among the most traded grains in the world. The United States Department

of Agriculture presented an All Grains Summary in August 2010 comparing the most

traded grains in the world market: corn, rice and wheat. Corn ranked as the most

produced and the most consumed in the said data. This data is not at all surprising

considering the varying uses of corn, with products ranging from food to

pharmaceuticals.

Corn production, however, can be affected by several factors, both biotic (insects,

diseases, nematodes or weeds) and abiotic (weather, nutrients or chemicals). Infestation

by insect pests is among its biggest threats. In fact, the University of Missouri Extension

published a diagnostic guide on corn insect pests (1998), showing about twenty (20)

species infesting corn at its different life stages, each varying in feeding times, symptoms

and magnitude of damage. In the same guide, the corn borer is specially marked to be

among the most injurious of all.

The most common and most studied species of corn borers are the European corn

borer (Ostrinia nubilalis sp.) and the Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenee). The

corn borer belongs to the Phylum Arthropoda, Order Lepidoptera, Class Pyralidae by

taxonomy. The (Asian) corn borer is geographically distributed in China, Philippines,

Malaysia and the rest of the Southeast Asian countries. The International Maize and

Wheat Improvement Center (2010) reported that the (Asian) corn borer eats through the

1
stems, tassels and ears of the corn; which impedes water and nutrient transport, causes

cob rot formation and kernel damage. The damage totals to 20 to 80% yield loss.

With such a significant effect on corn production, several institutions and

individuals conducted numerous studies on the Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis

Guenee), however, none of these studies documented the mitosis and meiosis of the cells

in Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenee).

Cells multiply by mitosis, a process where a single cell divides itself into two

daughter cells, each cell with the same number of chromosomes (compacted DNA) as its

parent had. Mitosis is divided into four stages: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase and

Telophase. Mitosis is responsible for cell growth, tissue repair and replacement. Meiosis,

on the other hand, is defined as the division of the parental chromosomes in half. This

process only happens in specialized cells which develop to form the reproductive cells,

i.e. sperm and egg cells (Starr, 2007).

The behavior of cells in mitosis and meiosis will be important in the

characterization of the Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenee) as a distinct

species. This study aims at providing a basis of comparison for other species with the

Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis Guenee), as in future phylogenetic studies.

Specifically, it aims at describing the morphology, number and behavior of chromosomes

during mitosis and meiosis of the cells of the Asian corn borer (Ostrinia furnacalis

Guenee), sampled at the Institute of Plant Breeding, UP Los Baños.