Mosquitoes of eastern Amazonian Ecuador: biodiversity, bionomics and barcodes

Abstract

Two snapshot surveys to establish the diversity and ecological preferences of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the terra firme primary rain forest surrounding the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve of eastern Amazonian Ecuador were carried out in November 1998 and May 1999. The mosquito fauna of this region is poorly known; the focus of this study was to obtain high quality link-reared specimens that could be used to unequivocally confirm species level diversity through integrated systematic study of all life stages and DNA sequences. A total of 2,284 specimens were preserved; 1,671 specimens were link-reared with associated immature exuviae, all but 108 of which are slide mounted. This study identified 68 unique taxa belonging to 17 genera and 27 subgenera. Of these, 12 are new to science and 37 comprise new country records. DNA barcodes [658-bp of the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase ( COI ) I gene] are presented for 58 individuals representing 20 species and nine genera. DNA barcoding proved useful in uncovering and confirming new species and we advocate an integrated systematics approach to biodiversity studies in future. Associated bionomics of all species collected are discussed. An updated systematic checklist of the mosquitoes of Ecuador (n = 179) is presented for the first time in 60 years.

Genetic diversity of Culex pipiens mosquitoes in distinct populations from Europe: contribution of Cx. quinquefasciatus in Mediterranean populations

“…The w Pip infections were genotyped de novo in a subsample of 274 individuals representative of all COI haplotypes and assigned to one group ( w Pip-I to w Pip-V) using PCR-RFLP assays based on two Wolbachia pipientis markers, ank2 and pk1, as previously described [ 30 ]. PCR-products about 310 and 510 bp were obtained after ank 2 amplification.…”

“…Cytochrome oxidase c subunit I ( COI ) mitochondrial gene has proven to be a reliable marker in the Paleartic region for differentiating among members of the Culex pipiens complex [ 25 – 27 ]. Mitochondrial DNA does not recombine, is mostly transmitted through the egg cytoplasm and is often used in phylogenetic studies of insects, including mosquitoes [ 28 – 30 ]. In zones of sympatry, where hybridization occurs between the complex members, nuclear markers are advisable in order to avoid erroneously identifying cases of cytoplasmic introgression [ 31 ].…”

Mosquito species (Diptera, Culicidae) in three ecosystems from the Colombian Andes: identification through DNA barcoding and adult morphology

“…In mosquitoes, the effectiveness of the COI barcode marker for specimen identification has been tested in surveys of Canada (Cywinska et al 2006), India (Kumar et al 2007), the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf (Azari-Hamidian et al 2010), China (Wang et al 2012), Amazonian Ecuador (Linton et al 2013), Pakistan (Ashfaq et al 2014), Singapore (Chan et al 2014), and Belgium (Versteirt et al 2015). These studies show correspondence between morphological species and DNA barcode clusters, but also point out the failure of the methodology to distinguish between very similar or cryptic species.…”

Molecular Differentiation of the African Yellow Fever Vector Aedes bromeliae (Diptera: Culicidae) from Its Sympatric Non-vector Sister Species, Aedes lilii

“…A 658 bp region of the cytochrome c oxidase ( COI ) gene has been widely adopted as a DNA barcoding standard for species identification because it shows high utility in discriminating between closely related taxa as well as resolving phylogeographic groups within species [ 29 – 31 ]. However, sole use of mitochondrial DNA to delimit species has been questioned because of the potential for pseudogene development and introgression, which may limit the ability of mtDNA markers to resolve closely related species [ 32 , 33 ].…”