title: DNA barcoding for identification of sand fly species (Diptera: Psychodidae) from leishmaniasis-endemic areas of Peru.
abstract: Phlebotomine sand flies are the only proven vectors of leishmaniases, a group of human and animal diseases. Accurate knowledge of sand fly species identification is essential in understanding the epidemiology of leishmaniasis and vector control in endemic areas. Classical identification of sand fly species based on morphological characteristics often remains difficult and requires taxonomic expertise. Here, we generated DNA barcodes of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene using 159 adult specimens morphologically identified to be 19 species of sand flies, belonging to 6 subgenera/species groups circulating in Peru, including the vector species. Neighbor-joining (NJ) analysis based on Kimura 2-Parameter genetic distances formed non-overlapping clusters for all species. The levels of intraspecific genetic divergence ranged from 0 to 5.96%, whereas interspecific genetic divergence among different species ranged from 8.39 to 19.08%. The generated COI barcodes could discriminate between all the sand fly taxa. Besides its success in separating known species, we found that DNA barcoding is useful in revealing population differentiation and cryptic diversity, and thus promises to be a valuable tool for epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Chukwunonso O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Nzelu
authors.affiliation: Departamento Académico de Microbiología Médica, Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru; Laboratorio de Entomología, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Abraham G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.affiliation: Dirección Ejecutiva de Salud Ambiental, Gerencia Regional de Salud Lambayeque, Perú Área de Entomología Laboratorio Referencial, Dirección Regional de Salud Piura, Peru.
authors.forename: Martín J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Arrunátegui-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Área de Entomología, Laboratorio Referencial, Dirección Regional de Salud Piura, Peru.
authors.forename: Máximo F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lañas-Rosas
authors.affiliation: Dirección Ejecutiva de Salud Ambiental, Dirección Regional de Salud Cusco, Peru.
authors.forename: Henrry H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Yañez-Trujillano
authors.affiliation: Dirección Ejecutiva de Salud Ambiental, Dirección Sub Regional de Salud Cutervo, Dirección Regional de Salud Cajamarca, Peru.
authors.forename: Deysi V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Luna-Caipo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Referencial, Dirección Regional de Salud Piura, Peru.
authors.forename: Carlos E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Holguín-Mauricci
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katakura
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan; Centro de Biomedicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador; Prometeo, Secretaría Nacional de Educacion Superior, Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion (SENESCYT), Ecuador.
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Electronic address: hkato@vetmed.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hirotomo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D004199:Disease Vectors; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010568:Peru; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: DNA barcode; Leishmaniasis; Peru; Sand flies; Vector