Genetic Similarity of Eggplant Shoot and Fruit Borer, Leucinodes orbonalis, Populations

Abstract

Shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenee) (Pyraustidae: Lepidoptera), has become a production constraint in all eggplant (Solanum melongena Linn. [Solanaceae])-growing countries. In India, transgenic eggplants expressing Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins have been tested in fields by private- and public-sector agencies. Understanding population diversity is important in designing strategies for better pest management. In the present investigation, random-amplified polymorphic DNA markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of L. orbonalis population collected from different field locations in the Tamilnadu State of India. Of 17 random-amplified polymorphic DNA primers screened, only 11 primers generated polymorphic bands (up to 14 bands). According to their level of similarities, only two major clusters with no variation among population were deduced. Our results indicated that there is a steady genetic flow among the present population of L. orbonalis alleviating genetic variation, which may be attributed to passive and active dispersal of the insect besides absence of host-induced variations among the population. As molecular variability of L. orbonalis population is an important consideration for shoot and fruit damage of the eggplant, constant monitoring is essential to study the possible development of Cry protein resistance in L. orbonalis.

Molecular Genotypic Diversity of Populations of Brinjal Shoot and Fruit Borer, Leucinodes Orbonalis and Development of SCAR Marker for Pesticide Resistance

“…Based on the intensity of brinjal growing farms such as high, moderate and low-intensity cultivations, populations of L. orbonalis were collected at 10 different regions, revealed intraspeci c variations based on random primers (Geetharajalakshmi et al 2006). Similar such work was carried out by Marimuthu et al (2009), reporting only two major clusters with no variations among populations using RAPD assays.…”

“…Variation at the genetic level seen largely in insect pest species are through their interaction with environmental factors by the natural selection process and this offers the basis for evolutionary change (Marimuthu et al 2009). Gene ow, genetic drift and natural selection interact in equilibrium to produce genetic variations among populations (Futuyma and Peterson 1985).…”

Molecular genotypic diversity of populations of brinjal shoot and fruit borer, Leucinodes orbonalis and development of SCAR marker for pesticide resistance

“…Determining the genetic variability is one of the important tools used in designing pest control practices of an integrated pest management programme. Variation at the genetic level seen largely in insect pest species are through their interaction with environmental factors by the natural selection process and this offers the basis for evolutionary change (Marimuthu et al 2009). Gene ow, genetic drift and natural selection interact in equilibrium to produce genetic variations among populations (Futuyma and Peterson 1985).…”

Molecular Characterization and their Phylogenetic Relationship Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I of Brinjal Shoot and Fruit Borer, Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

“…Studies of genetic variability could help to decide whether the entire L. orbonalis is in fact a single interbreeding population in which strong gene flow can occur. Assessing the genetic variability could help to design the management strategies of the insect pests (Marimuthu et al, 2009).…”

“…The pair-wise genetic distance of L. orbonalis populations ranged from 0.00 to 0.051, suggesting that there is not much variation in population of L. orbonalis from different locations, which corroborates with findings of (Shashank et al, 2015). Marimuthu et al, (2009) investigated that, random-amplified polymorphic DNA markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of L. orbonalis population collected from different field locations of Tamil Nadu and reported that out of 17 random-amplified polymorphic DNA primers screened, only 11 primers generated polymorphic bands (up to 14 bands). According to their level of similarities, only two major clusters with no variation among population were deduced.…”