Global haplotype analysis of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci cryptic species Asia i in Asia

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidiae), is a cryptic species complex comprising a minimum of 24 cryptic species. Some members of this complex are important agricultural pests, causing considerable damage to vegetable as well as ornamental and horticultural crops. Asia I, one of the cryptic species of B. tabaci, is widely distributed in Asia. One hundred and sixty mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences from eight countries have been analyzed to investigate the geographic origin and current genetic structure of this cryptic species. Sixty different haplotypes were identified, with levels of genetic distances ranging from 0.001 to 0.021. A sign of possible genetic differentiation emerges from the differential distribution of dominant haplotypes in Indonesia and India compared to China. A possible ancient separation between Asia I in India and Indonesia and secondary contact in China has been hypothesized.