RAPD-PCR analysis of Aulacobolus newtoni in Palani Hills

In this present investigation, to study the genetic polymorphism in the field populations of A. newtoni, collected from eight different localities of Palani Hills by using RAPD-PCR. The two primers amplified a total of 75 scorable bands in the molecular weight range of approximately 266bp to 1352bp. The number of amplification products obtained was specific to each primer and ranged from thirty forty five (Kit A15) to thirty (Kit A3). The UPGMA based dendrogram of all the primers grouped the populations of A. newtoni in two clusters. The similarity coefficients values were ranged from 0.03 to 0.86, indicating that no two populations were 100% similar. The similarity matrix of all the primers indicated that most of the populations exhibited < 50% similarity coefficient. Thus RAPD banding patters suggested that all the populations of A. newtoni exhibit a great degree of intraspecies variation, and this could be attributed to the varied agronomical practices, stress on the insect, selection pressure etc.