Genetic Analysis of White Leafhopper Cofana spectra (Distant) from Samosir Island, Indonesia Based on DNA Barcode

White leafhopper Cofana spectra is a pest of paddy and could act as a vector of
pathogenic viruses on rice. This research aims to find out its genetic data, namely its
identification, nucleotide composition and its phylogenetic based on DNA barcode-mtCOI
gene.The researchmethods included leafhopper sampling in rice field, DNA isolation, PCR,
electrophoresis, sequencing and blasting.The software Mega X was used to analyze the genetic
data. The mtCOI DNA gene sequence obtained was 333 bp in size and blasting result showed
that leafhopper belongto white leafhopper Cofana spectra (Distant) species. The dendrogram
from the sequence showed that white leafhopper species from Samosir island had the closest
relationship with species from Kerala, India. The frequency of nucleotide of T (U), C, A and G
of leafhopper were 41.96, 15.47, 28.57 and 13.98%, respectively. Therefore, this mtCOI gene
sequence was rich in A/T (70.53%), while G/C was 29.45%. The information obtained from
this study stated that the identification of the white leafhopper C.spectra based on molecular
character using mtCOI DNA gene sequence confirmed the identification result based on the
morphological traits and can be used to control and in monitoring the spread of the white
leafhopper.