Mitochondrial DNA diversity and population structure of Laodelphax striatellus across a broad geographic area in China

Abstract

The small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus Fallén (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), is a crucial devastating rice pest in East Asia. To effectively control this pest, we investigate the genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and genetic structure of 49 populations in China based on a 596 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtDNA COI) gene. Overall, 83 haplotypes were detected in 1253 mtDNA COI sequences. High levels of genetic variability (Hd = 0.756 ± 0.009, π = 0.00416 ± 0.00011) and genetic differentiation (F_ST = 0.262, p < .001) were observed. Bayesian inference phylogenetic and median-joining haplotype network analyses indicated no obvious geographical distribution pattern among haplotypes. Hierarchical AMOVA and SAMOVA revealed no genetically distinct groups and lack of obvious phylogeographic structure. Isolation by distance (IBD) analysis results demonstrated no correlation between genetic differentiation and geographic distance. Finally, the demographic history of SBPH examined by neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses illustrated a sudden population expansion at the large spatial scale in China.

Keywords:

• Demographic history
• genetic differentiation
• genetic diversity
• mitochondrial DNA
• small brown planthopper

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Jing Chen of the Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China for providing valuable comments and suggestions. We are also grateful to many experts for supplying much important information about Laodelphax striatellus and some enthusiastic help during our field surveys.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [2018YFD0200200]; The National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 31871950]; The science and technology plan of Liaoning Province [2019JH2/10200012].