Estimation of a new molecular marker of the genus Stathmopoda (Lepidoptera: Stathmopodidae): Comparing EF1a and COI sequences

The genus Stathmopoda Herrich-Schäffer, 1853, one of the agriculture and forestry pest groups in the world, is usually a tiny-sized insect and exhibits subtle morphological differences which make problems on morphological-based identification. In this study, for identifying Stathmopoda species, we tried to find a new molecular marker by using one mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and one nuclear gene, elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1a). From testing 42 individuals of six Stathmopoda species, we observed the usefulness of the EF1a in species identification with intraspecific genetic variation (range 0–2.5%) and interspecific genetic divergence (range 5.2–10.9%). In addition, the Neighbor-joining and Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery analyses revealed one complex group consisting of S. commoda, S. sp. and S. neohexatyla were clearly distinguished in the EF1a region. Our results indicate the possibility of the EF1a gene as a new molecular marker that can improve the accuracy of Stathmopoda identification comparing with the COI regions.