DNA barcoding of Bemisia tabaci complex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) reveals southerly expansion of the dominant whitefly species on cotton in Pakistan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci complex) are an important pest of cotton in Pakistan, its taxonomic diversity is poorly understood. As DNA barcoding is an effective tool for resolving species complexes and analyzing species distributions, we used this approach to analyze genetic diversity in the B. tabaci complex and map the distribution of B. tabaci lineages in cotton growing areas of Pakistan.

Methods/principal findings

Sequence diversity in the DNA barcode region (mtCOI-5') was examined in 593 whiteflies from Pakistan to determine the number of whitefly species and their distributions in the cotton-growing areas of Punjab and Sindh provinces. These new records were integrated with another 173 barcode sequences for B. tabaci, most from India, to better under

SUBMITTER: Ashfaq M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4123980 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature