Genome Size Estimation of Potato Aphid <i>Macrosiphum Euphorbiae</i> using Flow Cytometry

Abstract

Potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae(Thomas) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is colonizing species and vector for many economically important potato viruses. There is dearth of genomic information about this economically important aphid species. Hence, to get insight into the genomic architecture, genome size was determined using flow cytometry. The estimated size of M. euphorbiae was 0.53 pg or 519.4 Mbp. The genome size of M. euphorbiae is approximately 2.9, 2.2 and 1.9x larger than that of Drosophila melanogaster, honey bee (Apis mellifera) and mosquito Anopheles gambiae, respectively. The generated genome size information will provide the foundation for futuristic genomic research on M. euphorbiae.