DNA barcoding and the taxonomy of Microgastrinae wasps (Hymenoptera, Braconidae): impacts after 8 years and nearly 20 000 sequences

Abstract

Microgastrine wasps are among the most species-rich and numerous parasitoids of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). They are often host-specific and thus are extensively used in biological control efforts and figure prominently in trophic webs. However, their extraordinary diversity coupled with the occurrence of many cryptic species produces a significant taxonomic impediment. We present and release the results of 8 years (2004-2011) of DNA barcoding microgastrine wasps. Currently they are the best represented group of parasitoid Hymenoptera in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), a massive barcode storage and analysis data management site for the International Barcoding of Life (iBOL) program. There are records from more than 20 000 specimens from 75 countries, including 50 genera (90% of the known total) and more than 1700 species (as indicated by Barcode Index Numbers and 2% MOTU). We briefly discuss the importance of this DNA data set and its collateral information for future research in: (1) discovery of cryptic species and description of new taxa; (2) estimating species numbers in biodiversity inventories; (3) clarification of generic boundaries; (4) biological control programmes; (5) molecular studies of host-parasitoid biology and ecology; (6) evaluation of shifts in species distribution and phenology; and (7) fostering collaboration at national, regional and world levels. The integration of DNA barcoding with traditional morphology-based taxonomy, host records, and other data has substantially improved the accuracy of microgastrine wasp identifications and will significantly accelerate further studies on this group of parasitoids.

Contributions to the study of the Holarctic fauna of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). I. Introduction and first results of transatlantic comparisons

“…To uncover new distribution patterns, we first scanned the tree presented in Smith et al (2013), which contained all Microgastrinae sequences available at the time of its publication, and searched for clusters of closely related sequences (2% divergence or less) that contained both identified and unidentified specimens. These unidentified specimens were then morphologically studied to see if they were the same species as the identified specimens.…”

“…All newly generated sequences were edited in Geneious v.6.1.6 created by Biomatters (http://www.geneious.com/) and submitted to Genbank (see Table 1 for Genbank accession numbers). All sequences from Smith et al (2013) can also be retrieved from BOLD (Ratnasingham and Hebert 2007).…”

“…DNA barcoding has been extensively used in biodiversity and taxonomic studies of Microgastrinae during the past few years (summarized in Fernández-Triana et al 2014), due to the recent availability of over 20,000 sequences from more than 75 countries (e.g., Smith et al 2013). Those resources have allowed us to compare sequences of specimens from different areas and unravel potentially new distribution patterns -which were previously overlooked, or unknown until now.…”

Barcoding the food chain: from Sanger to high-throughput sequencing

“…DNA barcoding has revealed host-parasitoid dynamics, showing that hostparasitoid specificity is underestimated (Smith et al 2006(Smith et al , 2007Moreno-Ripoll et al 2012;Alex Smith et al 2013). Labour-intensive rearing traditionally revealed links between hosts and parasitoids, whereas molecular methods can be used to barcode parasitoid gut contents or traces of parasitoid DNA on hosts (Hrcek et al 2011).…”

Review of the Neotropical genus Prasmodon (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with emphasis on species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica

“…Valerio et al (2005) extensively illustrated the species, including the cocoon and adults, but until now no detailed description of the female was available. DNA barcodes were made available recently by Smith et al (2013). Host records are considerably expanded here, based on new data from the ongoing inventory of ACG parasitoids.…”