title: Unexpected diversity of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in tourist caves in Northern Thailand.
abstract: Certain species of Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are vectors of the protozoa which causes leishmaniasis. Sandflies are found breeding in enclosed places like caves. Thailand is a popular tourist destination, including for ecotourism activities like caving, which increases the risk of contact between tourists and sandflies. Surveillance of sandflies is important for monitoring this risk but identification of species based on morphology is challenged by phenotypic plasticity and cryptic diversity. DNA barcodes have been used for the identification of sandflies in Thailand. We collected sandflies using CDC light trap from four tourist caves in Northern Thailand. Female sandflies were provisionally sorted into 13 morphospecies and 19 unidentified specimens. DNA was extracted from the thorax and legs of sandflies and the DNA barcode region of cytochrome c oxidase I mtDNA amplified and sequenced. The specimens were sorted into 22 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTU) based on the 145 DNA barcodes, which is significantly more than the morphospecies. Several of the taxa thought to be present in multiple caves, based on morphospecies sorting, split into cave-specific MOTU which likely represent cryptic species. Several MOTU reported in an earlier study from Wihan Cave, Thailand, were also found in these caves. This supports the use of DNA barcodes to investigate species diversity of sandflies and their useful role in surveillance of sandflies in Thailand.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Science , Naresuan University , Phitsanulok , Thailand.|b Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Jedsada
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sukantamala
authors.affiliation: b Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.|c Ecology and Biodiversity Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kong-Wah
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Sing
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Science , Naresuan University , Phitsanulok , Thailand.|d Faculty of Medical Science, Centre of Excellence in Medical Biotechnology, Naresuan University , Phitsanulok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Narong
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jaturas
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Science , Naresuan University , Phitsanulok , Thailand.|d Faculty of Medical Science, Centre of Excellence in Medical Biotechnology, Naresuan University , Phitsanulok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Raxsina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Polseela
authors.affiliation: b Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.|c Ecology and Biodiversity Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: John-James
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D050259:Genes, Mitochondrial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010802:Phylogeny; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: COI gene; DNA barcoding; sandflies; species identification