Genetic diversity of rice leaf folder using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene Jindal Vikas Insect Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 141004, Email: vikas_ento@pau.edu Online published on 30 April, 2019. Abstract Genus, Cnaphalocrocis spp. is an important insect pest of rice in all rice growing countries. More than twenty species of Cnaphalocrocis exist of which six have been reported from Tamil Nadu alone. The information on rice leaf folder species prevailing in Punjab is lacking. Seven populations from Punjab were collected to establish the identity, and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (DNA barcode region) was amplified and cloned in pGEM-T-easy vector. The nucleotide sequence of mtCOI gene were determined and analysed. Blast analysis revealed that all the populations existing in Punjab are of C. medinalis. The genetic differences observed among the populations from Moga, Hoshiarpur-2 and Sangrur-2 was one nucleotide difference from other populations at position 202 (A instead of G), 388 (G instead of A) and 499 (C instead of T) of DNA barcode region (mtCOI), respectively. The genetic diversity analysis with populations from other parts of world revealed that populations from Pakistan, India, China, Australia and Korea formed one cluster. However, Papua New Guinea population is totally different and formed a separate cluster. Top Keywords Rice leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis spp, genetic diversity, DNA barcoding, mtCO1, blast analysis, Punjab populations, Moga, Sangrur. Top |