DNA barcoding and phylogenetic relationships of Spodoptera litura and S. exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Keywords:
Spodoptera sp., lifecycle stages, COI, phylogeny, mtCOI, tobacco cutwormAbstract
Spodoptera spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are highly polyphagous pests that inflict serious damage to a wide spectrum of crops. The ability of Spodoptera spp. to thrive on diverse host plants is an adaptive advantage for their survival in the ecosystem, which is achieved by its high mobility, fecundity and capacity to develop resistance to wide spectrum of chemical insecticides. In this study, we present molecular diversity and phylogenetic relationship of S. litura (Fabricius) and S. exigua (Hübner) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase-I (COI). Alignment of the sequences of COI from various life stages of the 2 species of Spodoptera shows that the molecular identification is independent of life stages and polymorphism of the target species. Maximum likelihood analyses of S. litura, S. exigua and S. mauritia (Boisduval) reveal that there exist significant variations among these. Spodoptera exigua showed intraspecific variations with respect to different geographic locations. Present study proves the utility of COI for identification of S. litura and S. exigua irrespective of their life stages, and also draws inferences on the phylogenetic relationships between the 3 pest species.
Resumen
El género Spodoptera incluye especies plaga altamente polífagas que infligen graves daños a una amplia gama de cultivos. La capacidad de las especies de Spodoptera para prosperar en diversas plantas hospederas es una ventaja adaptativa para su mejor sobrevivencia en el ecosistema, el cual es facilitado por su gran movilidad, fecundidad y capacidad para desarrollar resistencia a una amplia gama de insecticidas químicos. En este estudio, se presentan datos de diversidad molecular y la relación filogenética de S. litura y S. exigua deducida del citocromo oxidasa mitocondrial -I (mtCOI). La alineación de las secuencias del mtCOI de varios estadios de vida de las 2 especies de Spodoptera muestra que la identificación molecular es independiente del estadio de vida y el polimorfismo de la especie objetivo. El analisis de la probabilidad máxima de S. litura y S. exigua, junto con S. mauritia revelan que existen variaciones significativas entre estas especies. En particular S. exigua mostró variaciones intraespecíficas con respecto a las diferentes ubicaciones geográficas. El presente estudio demuestra la utilidad del mtCOI para la identificación de S. litura y S. exigua, independientemente de su estadio de vida y también extrae conclusiones sobre las relaciones filogenéticas entre las 3 especies de plagas.
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