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In the present study, two pod borer larvae were found to damage pods of the host plant Senna alata. As pods (seeds) are commercially important, it prompted the investigators to find out the adult of pod borer larvae by molecular sequencing and reported in this article for the first time from S. alata. Successful amplification was achieved for chloroplast DNA isolated from leaves of host plant S. alata and tissue DNA from unknown larvae and sequenced. The sequences were submitted to NCBI domain, and the taxonomic position of host plant of pod borer larvae was confirmed as S. alata (L.) Roxb. Of the two sequences belonging to pod borer larvae, specimen 1 (S1) matched with already available three sequences of Thylacoptila sp. AA. But, specimen 2 (S2) showed significant variation in its genetic distance in Neighborhood Joining tree and maximum likelihood tree; these factors imply that specimen 2 (S2) is distinct from Thylacoptila sp. AA. Therefore, it is reported that specimen 2 may be represented as Thylacoptila sp. BB where in BB indicates variant from other available sequences. Nonetheless, reporting species of Thylacoptila as insect pest in pods of S. alata is an important contribution to the annals of insect–pest–plant interaction more importantly in medicinally important plant species S. alata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a cryptic species complex and widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions. To understand the B. tabaci cryptic species diversity in China more comprehensively, in the year 2014 and 2016, a large-scale sampling was conducted from the famous biodiversity hotspot of China, Yunnan province. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences were used to identify new putative cryptic species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using Bayesian methods to evaluate the position of new cryptic species in the context of the B. tabaci diversity in Asia. Two new cryptic species, China 5 and Asia V were identified. In total, 19 B. tabaci cryptic species are present in China, two invasive (MED and MEAM1) and 17 indigenous. A new sibling species of B. tabaci was first defined and reported. Based on the mtCOI sequences and haplotype network analyses, the genetic diversity of MED was far higher than MEAM1. We confirmed the exotic MED was originated from the western Mediterranean regions and first invaded into Yunnan, China. The genetic structures of other four indigenous species (Asia I, Asia II 1, Asia II 6, and China 1) with relatively wide distribution ranges in China were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pink bollworm (PBW),Pectinophora gossypiellais one of the most destructive pest’s globally inflicting huge economic losses in cotton even during later stages of crop growth. In the present investigation, the population genetic structure, distribution, and genetic diversity ofP. gossypiellain cotton growing zones of India using partial mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase-I (COI) gene was addressed. The overall haplotype (Hd),number of nucleotide differences (K), and nucleotide diversity (π) were 0.3028, 0.327, and 0.00047, respectively which suggest that entire population exhibited low level of genetic diversity. Zone-wise clustering of population revealed that central zone recorded low level ofHd(0.2730) as compared to north (0.3619) and south (0.3028) zones. The most common haplotype (H1) reported in all 19 locations could be proposed as ancestral/original haplotype. This haplotype with one mutational step formed star-like phylogeny connected with 11 other haplotypes. The phylogenetic relationship studies revealed that most haplotypes of populations are closely related to each other. Haplotype 5 was exclusively present in Dharwad (South zone) shared with populations of Hanumangarh and Bathinda (North zone). The result indicated that there is no isolation by distance effect among the Indian populations of PBW. The present study reports a low genetic diversity among PBW populations of India and H1, as ancestral haplotype from which other haplotypes have evolved suggests that the migration and dispersal over long distance and invasiveness are major factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study attempted identification of Gobiid fishes from freshwaters in the east and northeast India on a collection of 20 specimens. The DNA barcode data delineated the collected samples into three species clades in the neighbor-joining tree. The results confirmed the identification of five sample sequences belonging to the subfamily Gobionellinae due to cohesive cladding with Awaous congeners. This is a new subfamily record for the northeastern region. Another 15 sample sequences showed conspecific cladding with Glossogobius giuris in the database. Among the 15 sample sequences, 14 sequences cladded with G. giuris sequences of Indian specimens while one sample sequence cladded with G. giuris sequences of South African specimens. This indicated the presence of either a hidden species or a previously synonymized species in the G. giuris complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use DNA molecular marker technology to correct the deficiency of traditional morphological taxonomy. Totality 770 Pelteobagrus fish from Poyang Lake were collected. After preliminary morphological classification, random selected eight samples in each species for DNA extraction. MitochondrialCOIgene sequence was cloned with universal primers and sequenced. The results showed that there are four species of Pelteobagrus living in Poyang Lake. The average of intraspecific genetic distance value was 0.003, while the average interspecific genetic distance was 0.128. The interspecific genetic distance is far more than intraspecific genetic distance. Besides, phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that molecular systematics was in accord with morphological classification. It indicated thatCOIgene is an effective DNA molecular marker in Pelteobagrus classification. Surprisingly, the intraspecific difference of some individuals (P. e6, P. n6, P. e5, andP. v4) from their original named exceeded species threshold (2%), which should be renewedly classified intoPelteobagrus fulvidraco. However, another individualP. v3 was very different, because its genetic distance was over 8.4% difference from original namedPelteobagrus vachelli. Its taxonomic status remained to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]