DNA barcoding of selected short-horned grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from Indian Himalayan region

In the context of Indian zoogeography, the DNA barcode data of short-horned grasshoppers (family Acrididae) are limited in global databases. Hence, the present study was aimed to collect selected Acridid species from the Indian Himalayan regions and generate DNA barcode data to enrich the global database. The estimated K2P genetic distances, Bayesian analysis (BA) topology and multiple species delimitation methods (ABGD, bPTP, and GMYC) clearly discriminate all the studied species. Based on high genetic distance (7.5%), multiple clades, and more than one molecular operational taxonomic unit, the present study elucidates the allopatric speciation and presence of possible cryptic diversity of Oxya japonica within India, China, and Russia. The present study suggests the collection of multiple specimens from different geographical locations and the generation of more DNA barcode data would facilitate the actual diversity of this insect group.