Genetic diversity of rice stem borer (Chilo suppressalis Walker) from Northern Iran and comparison with other countries

Abstract

Rice striped stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is considered the major pest of rice in Iran. Because of the serious damage on rice in Northern Iran, the present study was conducted to investigate genetic diversity within populations of C. suppressalis, from Mazandaran using a template of cytochrome oxidase I gene, 750 bps, (COI). Later the haplotypes from Iran were compared with those found in other countries. According to the results of this study, there is very low genetic diversity (two haplotypes) among different populations of this pest in populations of Northern Iran. The genetic similarity and low levels of genetic diversity of these populations suggest that the pest colonization occurred relatively recently and there is high gene flow between these populations of the province. In addition, haplotypes of Mazandaran province are different with those found in other countries. The similarity of Iranian population (Simorgh) with one population from China indicated that China might be the origin of C. suppresalis.

Fine-scale genetic structure of the overwintering Chilo suppressalis in the typical bivoltine areas of northern China

“…The limited dispersal capacity of RSB might increase the effects of random genetic drift, leading to local adaptation and population differentiation at large geographic scales. In contrast, Shayanmehr and Yoosefi-Lafooraki (2016) found a low level of genetic diversity and a high level of gene flow between populations in Northern Iran based on mtDNA COI gene sequences [ 22 ]. The differences in population differentiation obtained with these two different genetic markers could be mainly attributed to the different mutation rates of microsatellite and mtDNA markers [ 20 ].…”

“…Due to their high codominance and polymorphism levels, microsatellite markers have been widely used in population genetics studies [16]. Previously, the genetic variation and population genetic structure of RSB have been investigated in China, Japan, South Korea and Iran based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) [17], mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers [18][19][20][21][22]. Ishiguro and Tsuchida (2006) isolated and characterized four polymorphic microsatellite loci in RSB [18].…”

“…In contrast, moderate to high levels of genetic differentiation and no distinct population genetic structure were found in seven Chinese RBS populations based on microsatellite markers [ 20 ]. In addition, a low level of population genetic differentiation was detected in Northern Iran based on mtDNA COI gene sequences [ 22 ].…”