Genetic differentiating Aphis fabae and Aphis craccivora (Hemiptera: Sternorranycha: Aphididae) populations in Egypt using mitochondrial COI

Abstract

Aphis craccivora and Aphis fabae were found to infest broad bean in Egypt. Aphis craccivora was found to be more dominant than A. fabae; A. craccivora was collected from nine locations that represented different agroecosystems in Egypt. At the same time, A. fabae was found in one location only. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in mtDNA Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) were used to differentiate A. fabae and geographically related populations of A. craccivora in Egypt. For this purpose COI primers were designed and registered in GenBank. The primers were successful in detecting genetic variations between both related Aphis species as well as among different geographic populations of A. craccivora. Fourteen SNPs were found to differ among two biotypes of A. craccivora in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, probably due to environmental variations in the two different ecosystems.