Dados do Trabalho

Título

New phlebotomine sand fly records and COI DNA barcodes in the state of Maranhão, Brazil

Introdução

Sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) participate in the transmission of pathogens to humans and other animals. The species-level identification is traditionally done using morphological traits, but molecular markers can improve the biodiversity knowledge. The state of Maranhão is one of the most diverse regions of Brazil, but Amazonian fragments are poorly studied for sand flies.

Objetivo (s)

Here, we access the sand fly fauna and the usefulness of the DNA barcoding fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in a forest fragment in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.

Material e Métodos

The collections were carried-out using CDC-type light traps in three independent campaigns in May and October 2021, and January 2023. The sand flies were morphologically-identified and then DNA barcoded. Sequences were deposited and analyzed in the BOLD System Database, and the software MEGA, in order to assess whether DNA sequences merge into taxonomic units in accordance with nominal species.

Resultados e Conclusão

At the moment, about 1500 specimens comprising 25 species were sampled. Of these, three new records for the state of Maranhão were observed: Pasathyromyia barrettoi barrettoi, Lutzomyia sherlocki, Pressatia equatorialis. Also, we confirmed the presence of Psathyromyia bigeniculata in Maranhão, which was recently revalidated from the synonym of Psathyromyia shannoni. Regarding COI barcodes, we amplified and analyzed 67 specimens of 23 species. The mean intraspecific K2P genetic divergences ranged from 0% to 2.59%, while the interspecific ranged from 2.15% to 20.54%. The close-related pair Pressatia choti/Pr. equatorialis showed the lowest value of interspecific comparisons (2.15%). However, all analyzed COI sequences were grouped in neighbor-joining clusters which are in accordance with nominal species, and can be used to species identification at species level. Also, this study sequenced for the first time COI barcodes of the species Brumptomyia brumpti, Pintomyia christenseni, Evandromyia monstruosa, Sciopemyia servulolimai, Pa. barrettoi barrettoi, Psathyromyia hermanlenti, Micropygomyia rorotaensis, Pr. equatorialis, Micropygomyia pilosa, which will be useful for further molecular identification and classification proposals of Neotropical species. Thus, this study updated the current list of the sand fly fauna for the state of Maranhão to 95, and demonstrated that COI barcodes are useful for specific identification.

Palavras-chave

Amazon, Integrative Taxonomy, DNA barcoding, COI.

Agradecimentos

CAPES - Financial code 001