BackgroundIn South America, Lutzomyia umbratilis is the main vector of Leishmania guyanensis, one of the species involved in the transmission of American tegumentary leishmaniasis. In Brazil, L. umbratilis has been recorded in the Amazon region, and in the state of Pernambuco, Northeastern region, where an isolated population has been identified. This study assessed the phylogeographic structure and size and shape differences of the wing of three Brazilian populations.MethodsSamples of L. umbratilis were collected from Rio Preto da Eva (north of the Amazon River, Amazonas), from Manacapuru (south of the Amazon River), and from the isolated population in Recife, Pernambuco state. These samples were processed to obtain sequences of the Cytochrome Oxidase I mitochondrial gene. Geometrics morphometry analysis of the right wing shape of the three populations was made using discriminate canonical analysis.ResultsPhylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of two distinct monophyletic clades: one clade comprised of the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva samples, and the other clade comprised of the Manacapuru samples. Comparing the Manacapuru population with the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva populations generated high indices of interpopulational divergence. Geometric morphometry analysis indicated two distinct groups between the studied populations. Canonical variate analysis of wing shape indicated that Rio Preto da Eva population is significantly closer to Recife population, and both populations were genetically distant from Manacapuru.ConclusionThe polymorphic sites and geometric morphometry analysis indicate that the distance, lack of continuity and environmental differences have not modified the ancestral relationship between Recife and Rio Preto da Eva populations. The genetic and morphological similarities shared by the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva populations suggest that these populations are more closely related evolutionarily. These results confirm the existence of an L. umbratilis species complex in the North and Northeast regions.

INTRODUCTION: Besides mosquito species adapted to urban environments (Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), only 15 species of Anopheles had been recorded in the State of Pernambuco. METHODS: Human-landing mosquitoes were collected in Dois Irmãos Park, in Recife. RESULTS: The first report for the state of Haemagogus janthinomys, an important vector of yellow fever virus, and 14 other species, including Trichoprosopon lampropus, a first reported for Brazil. CONCLUSIONS: The mosquito fauna in the area is diversified and has potential medical and veterinary importance.

In the present work, a novel ascomycete species, Lachancea mirantina sp. nov., isolated from the fermentation process that produces cachaç a, a Brazilian spirit, is proposed. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 26S D1/D2 rDNA locus showed that L. mirantina sp. nov. was genetically related to Lachancea cidri and Lachancea fermentati, although some physiological traits showed remarkable differences. Analysis of the D1/D2 large-subunit rDNA molecular marker showed a clear distinction among all three species, confirming that L. mirantina sp. nov. belongs to a separate taxonomic species in the Lachancea clade. The type strain of Lachancea mirantina sp. nov. is URM 5925 T (5CLIB 1160 T 5CBS 11717 T ).

BackgroundEven one hundred years after being originally identified, aspects of the taxonomy of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis, the principal vector of Leishmania infantum in the Americas, remain unresolved for Brazilian populations of this vector. The diversity of morphological, behavioral, biochemical, and ethological characters, as well as the genetic variability detected by molecular markers are indicative of the presence of a complex of species.MethodsIn this study, a 525 bp fragment of the period gene was used to evaluate sympatric populations of L. longipalpis. A combination of probabilistic methods such as maximum likelihood and genetic assignment approach to investigate sympatric species of L. longipalpis were applied in three populations of Northeast Brazil.ResultsFixed polymorphisms in geographically isolated populations of L. longipalpis from two localities in the state of Ceará and one in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, was identified in a 525 bp fragment of the gene period (per). Our results suggest a direct relationship between the number of spots found in males’ tergites and the genetic variation in cryptic species of L. longipalpis. The fragment used in this study revealed the nature of the ancestral morphotype 1S.ConclusionNew polymorphisms were identified in the gene per which can be used as a genetic barcode to sympatric taxonomy of L. longipalpis. The per gene fragment confirmed the presence of two siblings species of L. longipalpis in Sobral and showed that these same species are present in two other localities, representing an expansion within the L. longipalpis species complex with regards to the states of Ceará and Pernambuco.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0785-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In South America, Lutzomyia umbratilis is the main vector of Leishmania guyanensis, one of the species involved in the transmission of American tegumentary leishmaniasis. In Brazil, L. umbratilis has been recorded in the Amazon region, and an isolated population has been identified in the state of Pernambuco, Northeastern region. This study assessed the phylogeographic structure of three allopatric Brazilian populations of L. umbratilis. Samples of L. umbratilis were collected from Rio Preto da Eva (north of the Amazon River, Amazonas), from Manacapuru (south of the Amazon River), and from the isolated population in Recife, Pernambuco state. These samples were processed to obtain sequences of the period gene. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of two distinct monophyletic clades: one clade comprised of the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva samples, and one clade comprised of the Manacapuru samples. Comparing the Manacapuru population with the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva populations revealed high indices of interpopulational divergence. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that geographical distance and environmental differences have not modified the ancestral relationship shared by the Recife and Rio Preto da Eva populations. Genetic similarities suggest that, in evolutionary terms, these populations are more closely related to each other than to the Manacapuru population. These results confirm the existence of an L. umbratilis species complex composed of at least two incipient species.