Revisiting DNA barcoding of true bugs of the infraorder Pentatomomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from India

Abstract

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) sequences of roughly 509 bp length for various species of the Infraorder Pentatomomorpha were generated. K2P divergences within and between species and genera were calculated and compared using newly generated sequences and the ones available on online portals. Mean interspecific (within-genus) genetic divergence (14.23%) was ∼ eight times greater than mean intraspecific (within-species) divergence (1.79%). Distance-based as well as character-based approaches were used towards constructing (COI) trees. In total, 20 sequences were of the species that were previously not part of the Barcode Of Life Database (BOLD), hence representing additions to the barcode library of Indian Heteroptera. Some of the analyzed species are well-known agricultural pests. All the COI sequences and the associated specimen data have been deposited on BOLD.

Keywords:

• COI
• DNA barcodes
• heteroptera
• K2P divergence
• mitochondrial gene
• pentatomomorpha

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Michael Raupach for help in compiling the manuscript. Swapnil Gaikwad, Shaukat Inamdar, A.K. Kale, Sameer Padhye, Sriraj Jakhalekar, Siddhartha Kulkarni and Sachin Ranade provided samples from various regions. Our sincere gratitude to Dr Harry Brailovsky for his help in identification of Leptoglossus sp. Lastly, we thank the reviewer for providing unbiased and fair comments, because of which the manuscript improved considerably. We are also grateful to the authorities of Fergusson College and Modern College for facilities and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests. All authors have read, commented and agreed on the contents of the paper.