Utility of the Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase II Gene for Resolving Relationships among Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Abstract

The complete mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II gene was sequenced from 17 black flies, representing 13 putative species, and used to infer phylogenetic relationships. A midge (Paratanytarsus sp.) and three mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, and Culex quinquefasciatus) were used as outgroup taxa. All outgroup taxa were highly divergent from black flies. Phylogenetic trees based on weighted parsimony (a priori and a posteriori), maximum likelihood, and neighbor-joining (log-determinant distances) differed topologically, with deeper nodes being the least well-supported. All analyses supported current classification into species groups but relationships among those groups were poorly resolved. The majority of phylogenetic signal came from closely related sister taxa. The CO-II gene may be useful for exploring relationships at or below the subgeneric level, but is of questionable value at higher taxonomic levels. The weighting method employed gave phylogenetic results similar to those reported by other authors for other insect CO-II data sets. A best estimate of phylogenetic relationships based on the CO-II gene is presented and discussed in relation to current black fly classification.

Neotropical Monogenoidea. 58. Three new species of Gyrodactylus (Gyrodactylidae) from Scleromystax spp. (Callichthyidae) and the proposal of COII gene as an additional fragment for barcoding gyrodactylids

“…this gene, however, is difficult to amplify successfully for several animal species (Bhadury et al 2006, Moszczynska et al 2009, Hoareau and Boissin 2010, including species of Gyrodactylus (see Meinilä et al 2002, this study). Alternatively, the coii gene has been successfully used as a molecular marker in phylogenetic reconstructions and evolutionary studies for various species of animals (spicer 1995, Adkins et al 1996, Frati et al 1997, caterino and sperling 1999, Pruess et al 2000, Piaggio and spicer 2001, rawson and Burton 2006. Although the rate of nucleotide substitution of coii is higher than the coi in Gyrodactylus (Huyse et al 2008), we found it easier to locate conserved regions of the mitochondrial genome to design primers to amplify and sequence coii than coi of gyrodactylidae.…”

“…the coii gene has been successfully used as molecular marker in phylogenetic inference and evolutionary studies for various species of animals (caterino and sperling 1999, Pruess et al 2000, Piaggio and spicer 2001, rawson and Burton 2006. Although the mitochondrial genome has been sequenced for a few species of Gyrodactylus (Huyse et al 2007, 2008, Plaisance et al 2007), this study proposes, for the first time, to use the coii gene as a marker for gyrodactylids.…”

Good species behaving badly: Non-monophyly of black fly sibling species in the Simulium arcticum complex (Diptera: Simuliidae)

“…Results from other studies using cytochrome c oxidase genes have been promising. From the analysis of 13 species representing four black fly genera, Pruess et al (2000) concluded that COII successfully resolves species-level relationships, yet is of limited value at higher taxonomic levels. Similarly, the COI barcoding gene has proven useful for species identification of Nearctic black flies (Rivera and Currie, 2009).…”

Molecular Relationships among European Samples of Reticulitermes (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae)

“…This paper presents the first insight into the molecular phylogeny of European Reticulitermes using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) and the large ribosomal subunit (16S) genes. Both genes have been extensively used to address phylogenetic questions in insects at different taxonomic levels (Liu and Beckenbach, 1992;Frati et al, 1997;GomezZurita et al, 2000;Flook and Rowell, 1997;Kambhampati et al, 1996;Pruess et al, 2000).…”