Revision of the species composition and distribution of Turkish sand flies using DNA barcodes

Abstract

Background Currently, knowledge regarding the phlebotomine sand fly (Diptera: Psychodidae) fauna of Turkey is restricted to regions with endemic leishmaniasis. However, rapidly changing environmental and social conditions highlight concerns on the possible future expansion of sand fly-borne diseases in Turkey, promoting risk assessment through biosurveillance activities in non-endemic regions. Traditional morphological approaches are complicated by extensive cryptic speciation in sand flies, thus integrated studies utilizing DNA markers are becoming increasingly important for correct sand fly identification. This study contributes to the knowledge of the sand fly fauna in understudied regions of Turkey, and provides an extensive DNA barcode reference library of expertly identified Turkish sand fly species for the first time. Methods Fly sampling was conducted at 101 locations from 29 provinces, covering all three biogeographical regions of Turkey. Specimens were morphologically identified using available keys. Cytochrome c oxidase I ( cox 1) barcode sequences were analyzed both for morphologically distinct species and those specimens with cryptic identity. A taxon identity tree was obtained using Neighbor Joining (NJ) analysis. Species boundaries among closely related taxa evaluated using ABGD, Maximum Likelihood (ML) and haplotype network analyses. Sand fly richness of all three biogeographical regions were compared using nonparametric species richness estimators. Results A total of 729 barcode sequences (including representatives of all previously reported subgenera) were obtained from a total of 9642 sand fly specimens collected in Turkey. Specimens belonging to the same species or species complex clustered together in the NJ tree, regardless of their geographical origin. The species delimitation methods revealed the existence of 33 MOTUs, increasing the previously reported 28 recorded sand fly species by 17.8%. The richest sand fly diversity was determined in Anatolia, followed by the Mediterranean, and then the Black Sea regions of the country. Conclusions A comprehensive cox 1 reference library is provided for the sand fly species of Turkey, including the proposed novel taxa discovered herein. Our results have epidemiological significance exposing extensive distributions of proven and suspected sand fly vectors in Turkey, including those areas currently regarded as non-endemic for sand fly-borne disease. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3669-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Phlebotomine sand fly survey in the Republic of Moldova: species composition, distribution and host preferences

“…( Adlerius ) and P. longiductus in highly diverged lineages (Fig. 4 ), and the mean K2P distance between these two lineages (6.5%) was comparable to those previously reported for different sand fly species classified in the subgenus Adlerius (Erisoz Kasap et al [ 26 ]). These results are further corroborated by parsimony network analysis which identified two independent networks for these two lineages, suggesting they may represent two different species.…”

“…With respect to the geography of Moldova and adjacent regions that lack natural barriers of dispersal, we may expect a rather unrestricted gene flow with populations from neighboring countries. The very low mean intraspecific K2P distance (0.02%) obtained for P. papatasi specimens collected from Moldova was comparable with those previously reported from Greece, Cyprus [ 10 ] and Turkey (Erisoz Kasap et al [ 26 ]) and further supports the conclusion that Moldovan P. papatasi comprise genetically close populations.…”

Phlebotomus (Adlerius) simici NITZULESCU, 1931: first record in Austria and phylogenetic relationship with other Adlerius species

“…Ph. simici is frequently reported in Balkan [ 25 – 28 ] and Middle Eastern countries [ 29 , 30 ]. Recent reports from North Macedonia (V. Dvořák, verbal communication), Kosovo [ 31 ] and Serbia [ 32 ] point towards a northward European distribution, which is further corroborated by an older mention from Croatia [ 33 ].…”

Population Genetics of Phlebotomus papatasi from Endemic and Nonendemic Areas for Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Morocco, as Revealed by Cytochrome Oxidase Gene Subunit I Sequencing

“…We have investigated the genetic structure of 10 populations collected from both endemic and non-endemic areas for zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ( Cox1 or COI ) as molecular marker to gather clues on the influence of the Atlas Mountains on the evolutionary history of P. papatasi populations in Morocco. The cytochrome c oxidase gene is used as a DNA barcode to guide the identification of new animal species and to delineate cryptic taxon and the association between their life stages [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. The sequence polymorphism at this locus has been used to investigate the population genetic structure of Lutzomyia longipalpis [ 47 ], and to discriminate L. umbratilis sibling species [ 48 ].…”