Mitochondrial COI gene as a tool in the taxonomy of mosquitoes Culex subgenus Melanoconion.
The subgenus Melanoconion is the second largest subgenus within the genus Culex, with 160 described species. Several of the species are proven vectors of arboviruses, including West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus complex and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus. Species of Melanoconion are well distributed from southern North America to most countries of South America and display the highest species diversity in tropical regions. Taxonomical identification within this group has been primarily based on morphological characters, with the male genitalia as the source of the most solid diagnostic features. The difficulty in reaching accurate species determinations when studying specimens of Culex (Melanoconion) has been extensively documented as a real limitation to expand knowledge of these insects. We tested the utility of the mitochondrial gene COI as a complementary tool in the taxonomy of Melanoconion. Using a data set of 120 COI sequences from Culex specimen captured in several localities in Brazil, the utility of COI barcodes for species delimitation is discussed through the evaluation of genetic divergences among specimens and the clustering patterns of species in three topologies obtained with Neighbor Joining, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic inference. For all specimens included in this study a previous morphological examination was performed, and most of the taxonomical determinations were corroborated using the COI barcode. We generated COI sequences that belong to 48 species of Melanoconion, with a mean intraspecific K2P genetic divergence of 3%; and all interspecific divergence values higher than the intraspecific divergence values. This is the first comprehensive study of subgenus Melanoconion, with evidence of COI as a useful and accessible DNA barcode.
Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 715, CEP 01246-904, São Paulo, Brazil; Research Associate, Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, PECET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 # 52-21, Medellin, Colombia. Electronic address: aniloract@gmail.com.
Carolina
C
Torres-Gutierrez
Superintendência de Controle de Endemias, Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
Eduardo Sterlino
ES
Bergo
Biology Department, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, MD, United States.
Kevin J
KJ
Emerson
Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 715, CEP 01246-904, São Paulo, Brazil.
Tatiane M P
TMP
de Oliveira
Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 715, CEP 01246-904, São Paulo, Brazil.
Susan
S
Greni
Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 715, CEP 01246-904, São Paulo, Brazil.
Maria Anice Mureb
MAM
Sallum
D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001938:Brazil; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003465:Culex / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny
D019476:Insect Proteins; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1
Barcode; Culicidae; Disease vector; Mosquito; Species discrimination