Molecular characterization of the invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) feeding on finger millet, Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn

Genetically, the maize fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) consists of two strains viz., corn (C) strain mainly feeding on maize, sorghum, cotton, pulses, etc., and rice (R) strain feeding on rice crop and other grasses. The present study was carried out to identify the strains of FAW collected from finger millet crop at three different locations viz., Morappur (Dharmapuri district), Vridhachalam (Cuddalore district) and Salem (Salem district) of Tamil Nadu, India. PCR–RFLP profile of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I fragment exhibited the presence of both ‘C’ and ‘R’ strains of FAW feeding on finger millet. Out of ten samples, 6, 8 and 8 samples assumed ‘R’ strain identity, whereas, 4, 2 and 2 samples assumed ‘C’ strain identity in the locations of Morappur, Vridhachalam and Salem, respectively. Sequence analyses of mtCOI region of FAW feeding on finger millet showed nucleotide variations in eight positions. The molecular identity of S. frugiperda was ranged from 98 to 100% with previously deposited sequences in the NCBI GenBank database.