A PCR Method to Distinguish Matsumuraeses phaseoli from M. falcana Based on the Difference of Nucleotide Sequence in the Mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I

The two closely related major leguminous crop pests in Korea, Matsumuraeses phaseoli and M. falcana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) have very similar morphological characters, which occasionally give rise to a failure in distinguishing between the two. In this study, we report an easy PCR-SSP method to distinguish between them, with a sequence specific primer set (P-SF2, F-SF3, and C-SR3) based on single nucleotide mismatch in 3` terminal base of a primer, which is found in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I DNA (mtCOI). Through application of this method, each species may be clearly identified in terms of its PCR band size and pattern, only one band (245 bp) for M. falcana and one (409 bp) or two bands (409 bp & 245 bp) for M. phaseoli.