PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS AND SEQUENCING OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL CYTOCHROME OXIDASE SUB UNIT I (COI) OF WHITE BACKED PLANT HOPPER, SOGATELLA FURCIFERA (HORVATH)

Abstract

The family Delphacidae is the largest and most economically important one amongst the hoppers, Fulgoroidea. It has representatives in tropical and subtropical regions that occur in a variety of environments, and its known fossil records dates back to Jurassic period. Sogatella furcifera, the white backed plant hopper is a serious pest of rice in many Asian countries. We have performed the phylogenetic reconstruction of the S. furcifera using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Phylogenetic reconstructions of the COI regions were done using Neighbor joining method. This study gives a clear picture of the mitochondrial genome of the insect and gives the phylogenetics of S. furcifera which help us to develop a sustainable and accurate strategy for management of the pest.