Genetic homogeneity in brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) as revealed from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I.

Brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) is a seasonal migrant pest in North India. The present study analyses the genetic diversity of N. lugens by employing a partial fragment of the mitochondrial gene encoding cytochrome oxidase I (COI) using samples from 16 different localities of India. Total of 16 fulllength COI gene sequences generated from this study with 16 COI gene sequences retrieved from GenBank were analysed for genetic differentiation and haplotypes of N. lugens populations in order to determine the genetic structure. Based on the partial COI gene, high genetic homogeneity was detected in N. lugens populations of India and they form a single genetic group. The Tajima's D test and Fu's F test also support our result, and indicate recent population expansion, while the phylogenetic tree suggests that geographically distinct populations of N. lugens do not exist in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]