Beyond taxonomy: species complexes in New World phlebotomine sand flies

Sousa‐Paula, Lucas Christian de; Pessoa, Felipe Arley Costa; Otranto, Domenico; Dantas‐Torres, Filipe

doi:10.1111/mve.12510

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 202 publications

(311 reference statements)

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“…Whether or not Pi. evansi represents different species, these molecular lineages may be taken into account from an epidemiological point of view because there may be variations regarding the ecological aspects and the vector-parasite interactions [57], and this should also be considered for the species Ps. panamensis, Mi.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the COI DNA barcoding library for Neotropical phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae)

Posada-López

Vélez²,

Uribe³

2023

Preprint

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Background: Sand fly species are traditionally identified using morphological traits, thought this method is hampered by the presence of cryptic species. DNA barcoding is a widely used tool in the case of insects of medical importance, where it is necessary to know quickly which species are present in a transmission area. Here, we assess the usefulness of COI DNA barcoding as a practical tool for species identification, correct assignment of isomorphic females, and to evaluate the detection of cryptic diversity that occurs in the same species. Results: A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was used to generate 156 new barcode sequences for sand flies from different countries of the Neotropical region, mainly Colombia, which had been identified morphologically as 43 species. The sequencing of the COI gene allowed the detection of cryptic diversity within species and correctly associated isomorphic females with males identified by morphology. The maximum intraspecific genetic distances ranged from 0 to 8.32% and 0 to 8.92% using uncorrected p distances and the K2P model, respectively. The minimum interspecific distance (nearest neighbor) for each species ranged from 1.5 to 14.14% and 1.51 to 15.7% using p and K2P distances, respectively. Three species had more than 3% maximum intraspecific distance: Psychodopygus panamensis, Micropygomyia cayennensis cayennensis, and Pintomyia evansi. They also were splitted into at least two MOTUs each, using different species delimitation algorithms. Regarding interspecific genetic distances, the species of the genera Nyssomyia and Trichophoromyia generated values lower than 3% (except Ny. ylephiletor and Ny. trapidoi). However, the maximum intraspecific distances did not exceed these values, indicating the presence of a barcode gap despite their proximity. Also, nine sand fly species were DNA barcoded for the first time: Evandromyia georgii, Lutzomyia sherlocki, Ny. ylephiletor, Ny. yuilli pajoti, Psathyromyia punctigeniculata, Sciopemyia preclara, Trichopygomyia triramula, Trichophoromyia howardi, and Th. velezbernali. Conclusions: The COI DNA barcode analysis allowed the correct delimitation of several Neotropical sand fly species from South and Central America and raised questions about the presence of cryptic species for some taxa, which should be further assessed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the COI DNA barcoding library for Neotropical phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae)

Posada-López

Vélez²,

Uribe³

2023

Preprint

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“…Several studies have shown that members of phlebotomine species complexes can display contrasted differences in terms of biology and vector capacity [ 92 ]. Therefore, deciphering species-complexes with such a high-throughput and powerful method may contribute to better identify biological entities of importance for the transmission of Leishmania .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution, systematics and historical biogeography of sand flies of the subgenus Paraphlebotomus (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotomus) inferred using restriction-site associated DNA markers

et al. 2021

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Phlebotomine sand flies are the main natural vectors of Leishmania, which cause visceral and tegumentary tropical diseases worldwide. However, their taxonomy and evolutionary history remain poorly studied. Indeed, as for many human disease vectors, their small size is a challenge for morphological and molecular works. Here, we successfully amplified unbiased copies of whole genome to sequence thousands of restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) markers from single specimens of phlebotomines. RAD markers were used to infer a fully resolved phylogeny of the subgenus Paraphlebotomus (11 species + 5 outgroups, 32 specimens). The subgenus was not recovered as monophyletic and we describe a new subgenus Artemievus subg. nov. Depaquit for Phlebotomus alexandri. We also confirm the validity of Ph. riouxi which is reinstated as valid species. Our analyses suggest that Paraphlebotomus sensu nov. originated ca 12.9–8.5 Ma and was possibly largely distributed from peri-Mediterranean to Irano-Turranian regions. Its biogeographical history can be summarized into three phases: i) a first split between Ph. riouxi + Ph. chabaudi and other species that may have resulted from the rise of the Saharan belt ca 8.5 Ma; ii) a Messinian vicariant event (7.3–5.3 Ma) during which the prolonged drought could have resulted in the divergence of main lineages; iii) a recent radiation event (3–2 Ma) that correspond to cycles of wet and dry periods in the Middle East and the East African subregions during the Pleistocene. Interestingly these cycles are also hypothetical drivers of the diversification of rodents, in the burrows of which Paraphlebotomus larvae develop. By meeting the challenge of sequencing pangenomics markers from single, minute phlebotomines, this work opens new avenues for improving our understanding of the epidemiology of leishmaniases and possibly other human diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors.

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“…Despite the relevance to public health, the species-level identification of sand flies can be hampered due to the complexity of morphological characters, and the lack of differences between close-related taxa [ 4 ]. There are some complexes of cryptic species reported among sand flies [ 10 ], and taxa that are only known based on the morphological information from a single sex [ 4 ]. For this reason, integrative taxonomy approaches may use complementary tools to elucidate interspecific boundaries [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA barcoding of sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) from the western Brazilian Amazon

et al. 2023

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The subfamily Phlebotominae comprises important insects for public health. The use of complementary tools such as molecular taxonomy is necessary for interspecific delimitation and/or discovery of cryptic species. Here, we evaluated the DNA barcoding tool to identify different species in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon. For this, we collected sand flies in forest fragments along the highway BR-317, in the municipality of Brasiléia, state of Acre, Brazil. The specimens were DNA-barcoded using a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. The sequences were analyzed to generate K2P pairwise genetic distances and a Neighbour-joining tree. The sand fly barcodes were also clustered into Molecular Operation Taxonomic Units (MOTU) using Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) approach. A total of 59 COI sequences comprising 22 nominal species and ten genera were generated. Of these, 11 species had not been sequenced before, thus being new COI sequences to science. Intraspecific genetic distances ranged between 0 and 4.9%, with Pintomyia serrana presenting the highest values of genetic distance, in addition to having been partitioned into three MOTUs. Regarding the distances to the nearest neighbour, all species present higher values in relation to the maximum intraspecific distance, in addition to forming well supported clusters in the neighbour-joining analysis. The DNA barcoding approach is useful for the molecular identification of sand flies from Brasiléia, state of Acre, and was efficient in detecting cryptic diversity of five species which can be confirmed in future studies using an integrative approach. We also generated new COI barcodes for Trichophoromyia auraensis, Nyssomyia shawi, and Psychodopygus paraensis, which may play a role in the transmission of Leishmania spp. in the Brazilian Amazon.

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Beyond taxonomy: species complexes in New World phlebotomine sand flies

Cited by 22 publications

References 202 publications

Improving the COI DNA barcoding library for Neotropical phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae)

Improving the COI DNA barcoding library for Neotropical phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae)

Evolution, systematics and historical biogeography of sand flies of the subgenus Paraphlebotomus (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotomus) inferred using restriction-site associated DNA markers

DNA barcoding of sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) from the western Brazilian Amazon

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