ARCHIVES
VOL. 11, ISSUE 2 (2026)
Molecular phylogenetic analysis of eight Nymphalidae butterfly species based on mitochondrial COI gene
Authors
Monika Jagarwal, Priyanka Verma, Ghanshyam Kachhawa
Abstract
The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is widely
acknowledged as a reliable molecular marker for phylogenetic research and
species identification. This study investigated the molecular phylogenetics of
eight butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae: Danaus
chrysippus, Danaus genutia, Hypolimnas bolina, Hypolimnas misippus, Junonia
lemonias, Junonia orithya, Melanitis leda, and Phalanta phalantha. The
nucleotide composition showed strong AT bias (70.32%) compatible with mitochondrial
DNA characteristics of Lepidoptera. Pairwise genetic distance analysis
showed lowest divergence between Junonia lemonias and Junonia orithya
(0.0074) and the highest between Melanitis leda and Phalanta
phalantha (0.1903). The mean intra-generic distance (0.050) was
significantly lower than the mean inter-generic distance. The
transition/transversion bias (R = 0.82) indicated conserved mitochondrial
evolution in insects. The Neighbour Joining phylogenetic tree showed clear
genus-level clustering with strong bootstrap support. These results confirmed
the effectiveness of the COI gene as a reliable DNA barcode. It is useful for
species identification and phylogenetic analysis in Nymphalidae
butterflies.
Download
Pages:115-118
How to cite this article:
Monika Jagarwal, Priyanka Verma, Ghanshyam Kachhawa "Molecular phylogenetic analysis of eight <i>Nymphalidae</i> butterfly species based on mitochondrial COI gene". International Journal of Zoology Studies, Vol 11, Issue 2, 2026, Pages 115-118
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.