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Biotechnologia Acta Т. 19, No. 3, 2026
P.56-76, Bibliography 74 , Engl.
UDC:  595.78:576.3/.7(540.23)
doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/biotech19.03.056

Full text: (PDF, in English)

DNA BARCODING OF Danaus chrysippus FROM JHARKHAND (INDIA)

1*KUMAR Manoj, 1 KUMAR Aman, 1 Rakesh Ranjan, 2 ROHIT Srivastava, 2 PRASAD Sinha Manoranjan

1 Department of Zoology, St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi – 834002, Jharkhand (India)
2 Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi – 834008, Jharkhand (India)

Aim. To investigate the morphoanatomical characteristics and genetic diversity of Danaus chrysippus across diverse ecological landscapes of Jharkhand, India, using an integrative morpho-molecular approach.

Materials and Methods. Specimens were collected from nine sites across eight districts of Jharkhand. Morphoanatomical features, including wing patterns and genital structures, were examined using standard taxonomic procedures. Genomic DNA was extracted, and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences were amplified and analyzed. Sequence data were submitted to DDBJ (accession IDs LC818942 to LC877969). Species identity was confirmed using BLASTn, and phylogenetic analyses were conducted in MEGA X using Maximum Likelihood (ML), Neighbor-Joining (NJ), and Minimum Evolution (ME) methods.

Results. Morphological observations confirmed characteristic traits, including brush-footed forelegs, sexually dimorphic hindwing markings, and distinct male and female genital structures. CO1 sequences (509–698 bp) exhibited an AT-rich composition (mean A+T ≈ 69.9%). Pairwise genetic distances among most isolates were low (0.0000–0.0197), indicating high genetic uniformity. However, the Dumri isolate (LC877967) showed marked divergence (~0.14–0.146), suggesting the presence of an Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU). Phylogenetic analyses consistently grouped all other isolates into a single clade, while the Dumri isolate formed a distinct lineage.

Conclusions. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of DNA barcoding in detecting genetic variation within D. chrysippus populations. The distinctiveness of the Dumri isolate highlights its potential evolutionary and conservation significance. These findings provide a baseline for future monitoring of butterfly genetic diversity in ecologically sensitive regions of Jharkhand.

Keywords: Danaus chrysippus, Morphomolecular, morphoanatomical, distance matrix, phylogenetic tree, BLAST.

Information about the authors
Manoj Kumar ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2858-2818
Rakesh Ranjan: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7560-9094 
Srivastava Rohit ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6703-9642
Manoranjan Prasad Sinha: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8402-045X

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