Cryptic species composition and genetic diversity within Bemisia tabaci complex in soybean in India revealed by mtCOI DNA sequence

Bemisia tabaci is a cryptic species complex, causing significant loss on many agriculturally important crops worldwide. Knowledge on species composition and diversity within B. tabaci complex is critical for evolving sustainable pest management strategies. Here we investigate the whitefly species complex in soybean in major soybean growing states of India. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene subunit-1(mt COI) based phylogenetic relationships established using Bayesian methods indicated the existence of three cryptic species namely AsiaⅠ, AsiaⅡ1, and AsiaⅡ7. All the haplotypes detected in the study could be assigned to these three cryptic species following the species demarcation criteria of 3.5% divergence threshold. Of these, AsiaⅡ1 was found to be predominant with wide spread distribution across the surveyed regions from cool temperate zones to hot and humid tropical plains. On the contrary, cryptic species AsiaⅡ7 showed localized distribution. The AsiaⅡ1 exhibited the highest haplotype diversity and AsiaⅠ showed high level of nucleotide diversity. There was a significantly high genetic differentiation among these three cryptic species. The MEAM 1, a dreadful invasive species was not detected in the specimens tested in the current study. The diversity and distribution of three cryptic species is discussed in the light of current knowledge on distribution of whitefly species in India and yellow mosaic disease observed during sampling survey.     

Total carotenoid and beta-carotene contents of forest green leafy vegetables consumed by tribals of south India

Seventy edible wild forest green leafy vegetables (GLV) collected andconsumed by tribals of Andhra Pradesh, India were analyzed for totalcarotenoids (TC) and beta carotene (BC) contents using high performanceliquid chromatography (HPLC). The vitamin A activity expressed as retinolequivalents (RE) was calculated based on in vivo conversion factorgiven by WHO. The results of the study indicated that thirty-six GLV werefound to have high vitamin A activity (0.87 to 2.34 RE) with TC and BCcontents ranging from 12.22 to 36.13 and 5.21 to 14.05 mg %,respectively; thirty GLV had moderate vitamin A activity (0.36–0.8 RE)with TC and BC contents ranging from 10.60 to 31.33 and 2.19 to 4.78 mg %.Four GLV contained low vitamin A activity (0.07–0.32 RE); – TC and BCcontents ranging from 5.12 to 13.13 and 0.40 to 1.94, respectively. Thepercent beta carotene in total carotenoids among the three groups of theGLV varied from 19.41 to 73.02, 11.11 to 46.21 and 5.98 to 37.11,respectively.