DNA barcoding revels first records of three rare coleopteran genera in Northern lakes of Egypt.

Abstract

One aquatic coleopteran species from family Dytiscidae and two aquatic coleopteran genera from family Hydrophilidae were recorded in the summer period and represent first records in the Egyptian lakes. Beetles were collected from two northern lakes, Lake Idku and Lake Burullus. They were identified by morphological characteristics as well as the mtDNA barcoding method. A molecular phylogenetic approach was used to determine the genetic identity of the collected samples based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI). Prodaticus servillianus (Dytiscidae) from Egypt showed no significant difference in the COI region and they are highly similar to P. servillianus from Madagascar. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the other two coleopteran genera belong to family Hydrophilidae. Based on COI only, there is no clear evidence for their genetic identity at the species level. So, we defined them to the closest taxon and denoted them as Cymbiodyta type A and B. The results indicated that resolving the molecular identity of the aquatic beetles from northern lakes of Egypt need more considerations in the field of biological conservation. We concluded that utilization of COI as a barcoding region for identifying some coleopteran species is not sufficient and additional molecular markers are required to uncover the molecular taxonomy at deep levels.

Molecular identification and phylogeography of Gonipterus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Brazil

“…The high support of the Bayesian phylogeny branches indicates a high accuracy of identification of Gonipterus species and reinforces the hypothesis that the previous reports of G. scutellatus and G. gibberus resulted from errors in identification. The G. scutellatus complex is one more example of the utility of COI gene sequencing for cryptic species identification and for detection of species that are not yet formally described or even detected (Fresia et al 2013; Kheirallah 2021; Lopez‐Vaamonde et al 2021; Mapondera et al 2012; Matsui et al 2021; Parish et al 2017). Furthermore, the high mutation rate of the COI gene enabled the design of specific multiplex PCR markers for rapid and low‐cost species identification without the need for sequencing technology or restriction enzymes (Phunngam et al 2017; Zheng et al 2019), as we performed here for G. platensis and G. pulverulentus .…”

DNA barcoding of Naididae (Annelida, Oligochaeta), based on cytochrome C oxidase gene and ITS2 region in China

“…Thereinto, the cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) of mitochondrial gene is an ideal gene target to be used as DNA barcode for species identification due to maternal inheritance with moderate sequence conservatism and variability ( Hebert et al 2003a , Hebert et al 2003b , Remigio 2003 ). DNA barcoding through a short and standardised fragment of the COI gene to identify and classify species has been demonstrated in multiple taxa ( Ball et al 2005 , Costa et al 2007 , Zhou et al 2007 , Foottit et al 2008 , Amer 2021 , Kheirallah 2021 , Rewicz et al 2021 ). The technique allows identification of animal groups at the species level, as well as helps in the discovery of cryptic species ( Ardura et al 2010 , Lin et al 2020 ).…”