title: Genetic Diversity and Identification of Palearctic Black Flies in the Subgenus Wilhelmia (Diptera: Simuliidae).
abstract: Accurate species identifications are the essential first step in understanding the medical, economic, and ecological importance of black flies. The utility of DNA barcoding based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences was evaluated for identifying six common species of Palearctic black flies in the subgenus Wilhelmia, including several that are virulent pests. Chromosomally identified larvae from Turkey and Germany and COI sequences in GenBank were analyzed. Intraspecific genetic divergence was 0.7-3.5% (mean 1.6%), whereas interspecific genetic divergence was 2.7-16.9%. On the basis of COI barcodes, the six nominal species of Simulium (Wilhelmia) were clustered in three distinct clades with high levels of genetic divergence, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. All specimens of Simulium equinum (L.), Simulium pseudequinum Séguy, and Simulium paraequinum Puri were correctly identified. However, >75% of identifications were ambiguous for Simulium lineatum (Meigen) and Simulium turgaicum Rubtsov (Meigen) because of overlapping intra- and interspecific divergence of the two species and Simulium balcanicum (Enderlein), all three of which are chromosomally similar and nearly isomorphic. Phylogenetic evaluation showed that S. balcanicum, S. equinum, S. pseudequinum, and S. paraequinum were monophyletic, with high bootstrap and posterior probability values, but it also showed that S. lineatum and S. turgaicum were paraphyletic, each clustering in two distinct groups, suggesting the presence of cryptic taxa. Although DNA barcoding provided a partial means of identification and indications of additional biodiversity, other molecular markers are needed to clarify the limits of all pest species of the subgenus Wilhelmia.
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Erciyes University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inci
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Erciyes University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Alparslan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Erciyes University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Onder
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Duzlu
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Erciyes University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zuhal
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Onder
authors.affiliation: Parasitology Department, Erciyes University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciloglu
authors.affiliation: District Government of Lower Bavaria, Regierungsplatz 540, 84028 Landshut, Germany.
authors.forename: Gunther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007814:Larva / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Cytochrome oxidase I; DNA bar code; Simulium; pest; phylogenetic