DNA Barcoding of Eight Species of the Subtribe Polyommatina (Polyommatinae, Lycaenidae) from North Western India

There is need to strengthen the barcode reference library of Indian butterfly species to better understand the genetic structure of these species. The present study addresses by generating barcodes for eight species of subtribe Polyommatina, including high altitude species Plebejus samudra which is barcoded for the first time globally. All the generated DNA barcodes submitted to the Genbank and accession numbers have been procured. The phylogenetic relationships were inferred using the maximum likelihood method. All the eight sequenced species grouped within the monophyletic clades along with other congeneric species. The Intergeneric, interspecific and intraspecific divergence values were also calculated.