Molecular characteristics of Indian population of Deanolis sublimbalis Snellen (Crambidae: Lepidoptera) using mitochondrial and nuclear genes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Red Banded Mango Caterpillar (RBMC), Deanolis sublimbalis Snellen (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a serious pest of mango fruits in several regions of South and South East Asia. Molecular characterisation of twenty nine different populations was done using the mitochondrial gene, Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase-I (mtCOI) and nuclear gene, Elongation Factor 1 Alpha (EF-1α) to estimate the genetic variability among the RBMC populations. Nucleotide analysis of genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of the mtCOI, EF-1α and concatenated sequences (both COI and EF-1α) indicated that the RBMC populations from different geographical regions used in this study are homogenous. The nucleotide diversity (π) and overall mean distance for mtCOI and EF-1α were 0.003635, 0.004 ± 0.001, and 0.00, 0.00, respectively. Moreover, nucleotide diversity and overall mean distance of concatenated sequences were π = 0.009809 and 0.010 ± 0.002. Four mtCOI gene sequences of RBMC (Two from India, Two from Canada) from GenBank were juxtaposed with Indian test populations while building phylogenetic tree indicated that the RBMC from India and Canada are less divergent. With respect to mtCOI, no significant molecular diversity within the RBMC populations of different geographical locations of India as well as Canada was found. However, the phylogenetic tree implied the probability of emerging genetic differences in RBMC populations.