title: Tests of conspecificity for allopatric vectors: Simulium nodosum and Simulium shirakii (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Asia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Allopatric populations present challenges for biologists working with vectors. We suggest that conspecificity can be concluded in these cases when data from four character sets-chromosomal, ecological, molecular, and morphological-express variation no greater between the allopatric populations than between corresponding sympatric populations. We use this approach to test the conspecificity of Simulium nodosum Puri on the mainland of Southeast Asia and Simulium shirakii Kono & Takahasi in Taiwan. The validity of these two putative species has long been disputed given that they are morphologically indistinguishable.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mitochondria-encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA genes and the nuclear-encoded 28S rRNA gene support the conspecific status of S. nodosum from Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and S. shirakii from Taiwan; 0 to 0.19 % genetic differences between the two taxa suggest intraspecific polymorphism. The banding patterns of the polytene chromosomes of the insular Taiwanese population of S. shirakii and mainland populations of S. nodosum are congruent. The overlapping ranges of habitat characteristics and hosts of S. nodosum and S. shirakii corroborate the chromosomal, molecular, and morphological data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Four independent sources of evidence (chromosomes, DNA, ecology, and morphology) support the conspecificity of S. nodosum and S. shirakii. We, therefore, synonymize S. shirakii with S. nodosum. This study provides a guide for applying the procedure of testing conspecificity to other sets of allopatric vectors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. lucaslow24@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Van Lun
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. padler@clemson.edu.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sofian@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Mohd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofian-Azirun
authors.affiliation: Entomology Section, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Chiang Mai, Thailand. wsrisuka@gmail.com.|Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. wsrisuka@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wichai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Srisuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. atiporn44@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Atiporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saeung
authors.affiliation: Fuji Environmental Service, Mitsuwa, Kawaguchi City, Saitama, Japan. yaote34@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Yao-Te
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia. upikke@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Upik Kesumawati
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Hadi
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Food Control, Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam. da.pham@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Da Pham
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. takaoka@oita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takaoka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D001483:Base Sequence; D004463:Ecology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002052:Myanmar; D059007:Polytene Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013624:Taiwan; D013785:Thailand; D014744:Vietnam