title: DNA barcodes for species identification in the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole (Formicidae: Myrmicinae).
abstract: DNA sequencing is increasingly being used to assist in species identification in order to overcome taxonomic impediment. However, few studies attempt to compare the results of these molecular studies with a more traditional species delineation approach based on morphological characters. Mitochondrial DNA Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene was sequenced, measuring 636 base pairs, from 47 ants of the genus Pheidole (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) collected in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to test whether the morphology-based assignment of individuals into species is supported by DNA-based species delimitation. Twenty morphospecies were identified, whereas the barcoding analysis identified 19 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Fifteen out of the 19 DNA-based clusters allocated, using sequence divergence thresholds of 2% and 3%, matched with morphospecies. Both thresholds yielded the same number of MOTUs. Only one MOTU was successfully identified to species level using the CO1 sequences of Pheidole species already in the Genbank. The average pairwise sequence divergence for all 47 sequences was 19%, ranging between 0-25%. In some cases, however, morphology and molecular based methods differed in their assignment of individuals to morphospecies or MOTUs. The occurrence of distinct mitochondrial lineages within morphological species highlights groups for further detailed genetic and morphological studies, and therefore a pluralistic approach using several methods to understand the taxonomy of difficult lineages is advocated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Animal Ecology Faculty of Biology Philipps-Universitaet Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse 8, D-35032 Marburg, Germany. rossangendo@yahoo.com
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Ng'endo
authors.forename: Z B
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Osiemo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brandl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D001938:Brazil; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
references.citation: J Mol Evol. 1980 Dec;16(2):111-20
references.pmid: 7463489
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Aug 7;270 Suppl 1:S96-9
references.pmid: 12952648
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005 Oct 29;360(1462):1905-16
references.pmid: 16214748
references.citation: J Mol Evol. 1996 Sep;43(3):304-11
references.pmid: 8703097
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005 Oct 29;360(1462):1825-34
references.pmid: 16214741
references.citation: Syst Biol. 2005 Oct;54(5):852-9
references.pmid: 16243770
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2009 Feb;18(4):648-64
references.pmid: 19175505
references.citation: Mol Mar Biol Biotechnol. 1994 Oct;3(5):294-9
references.pmid: 7881515
references.citation: Conserv Biol. 2006 Aug;20(4):1026-33
references.pmid: 16922219
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jan 24;103(4):968-71
references.pmid: 16418261
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005 Oct 29;360(1462):1935-43
references.pmid: 16214751
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2005 Dec;3(12):e422
references.pmid: 16336051
references.citation: Mol Biol Evol. 1987 Jul;4(4):406-25
references.pmid: 3447015
references.citation: Bioinformatics. 2001 Aug;17(8):754-5
references.pmid: 11524383
references.citation: Syst Biol. 2002 Feb;51(1):69-91
references.pmid: 11943093
references.citation: Front Zool. 2010 May 25;7:16
references.pmid: 20500846
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Feb 7;270(1512):313-21
references.pmid: 12614582
references.citation: Ecology. 2010 Mar;91(3):782-92
references.pmid: 20426336
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005 Oct 29;360(1462):1835-45
references.pmid: 16214742
references.citation: J Hered. 2006 Nov-Dec;97(6):581-94
references.pmid: 17135463
references.citation: Mol Biol Evol. 2007 Aug;24(8):1596-9
references.pmid: 17488738
references.citation: Syst Biol. 2006 Oct;55(5):715-28
references.pmid: 17060194
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2002 Apr;11(4):839-50
references.pmid: 11972769
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Apr 29;359(1444):669-79
references.pmid: 15253352
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2004 Oct;2(10):e312
references.pmid: 15455034
references.citation: Genetics. 1993 Jan;133(1):97-117
references.pmid: 8417993
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2001 Jun 1;16(6):314-321
references.pmid: 11369110
references.citation: Bioinformatics. 2004 Jan 22;20(2):289-90
references.pmid: 14734327
references.citation: Nature. 2000 Feb 24;403(6772):853-8
references.pmid: 10706275
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1990 Oct 5;215(3):403-10
references.pmid: 2231712
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005 Oct 29;360(1462):1925-33
references.pmid: 16214750
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 26;105(34):12359-64
references.pmid: 18716001