DNA Polymorphism in Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) Through RAPD Markers

Genetic diversity among Helicoverpa armigera prevaling in different parts of North Karnataka was studied using PCR-RAPD. RAPD revealed large amount of genetic variations among individuals. There exist variations in the DNA profiling among all samples. The dendrogram constructed using symmetric matrix of different samples resulted into two major clusters. The first major cluster comprised of Dharwad, Haveri and Belgaum isolates and the second major cluster constituted Raichur and Bellary isolate which separated from first major cluster at the similarity value of around 0.67. The similarity matrix pertaining to different isolates of Helicoverpa armigera revealed that the similarity coefficient ranged from 0.63–0.83. The highest genetic similarity index of 0.83 was seen between the isolates from Dharwad and Bellary followed by 0.80 between the isolates from Haveri and Bellary. Polymorphism helps a species to evolve and adopt fatser to different environments.