Identification of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from leishmaniasis endemic areas in southeastern Mexico using DNA barcoding

Abstract

Leishmaniasis, a vector‐borne disease transmitted to humans through the bite of phlebotomine sand flies, is of public health significance in southeastern Mexico. Active and continuous monitoring of vectors is an important aspect of disease control for the prediction of potential outbreaks. Thus, the correct identification of vectors is paramount in this regard. In this study, we employed DNA barcoding as a tool for identifying phlebotomine sand flies collected in localized cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic areas of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Specimens were collected using CDC light and Shannon traps as part of the Mexican Ministry of Health surveillance program. DNA extraction was carried out using a nondestructive protocol, and morphological identification based on taxonomic keys was conducted on slide‐mounted specimens. Molecular taxonomic resolution using the 658‐bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene was 100% congruent with the morphological identification. Seven species were identified: Lutzomyia cruciata (Coquillett 1907), Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva 1912), Psathyromyia shannoni (Dyar 1929), Dampfomyia deleoni (Fairchild & Hertig 1947), Dampfomyia beltrani/steatopyga (Vargas & Díaz‐Nájera 1951), Bichromomyia olmeca olmeca (Vargas & Díaz‐Nájera, 1959), and Brumptomyia mesai (Sherlock 1962). Mean intraspecific divergence ranged from 0.12% to 1.22%, while interspecific distances ranged from 11.59% to 19.29%. Neighbor‐joining (NJ) analysis using the Kimura 2‐parameter model also showed specimens of the same species to be clustered together. The study provides the first cox1 sequences for three species of sand flies and indicates the utility of DNA barcoding for phlebotomine sand flies species identification in southeastern Mexico.

Building a Collaborative DNA Barcode Library for the Diptera of Churchill, Canada: A Resource for Northern Research

“…For Psychodidae, the distances ranged from 0– 4.9% within the family in Brazil, and increased to 0– 8.32% when including multiple countries in the Neotropical region (de Souza Pinto et al, 2022, Posada-Lopez et al, 2023). When focusing only on Mexico, Adeniran et al (2019) found intraspecific distances of 0.12–1.22%. This range increased to 0–9.48% when including other sequences from North and South America (Adeniran et al, 2019).…”

“…When focusing only on Mexico, Adeniran et al (2019) found intraspecific distances of 0.12–1.22%. This range increased to 0–9.48% when including other sequences from North and South America (Adeniran et al, 2019). The maximum intraspecific distance was 1.07% for Psychodidae in our study, which is similar to other studies that focused on small geographic regions.…”

“…By continuing to barcode specimens and build these regional libraries, we can further expand our knowledge of the communities and ecological processes within these regions. Across geographic regions, DNA barcoding has been shown to be a helpful and successful approach for Diptera, and it is a useful tool for identifying and delineating species within this group (Adeniran et al, 2019, Banerjee et al, 2015, Brodin et al, 2012, Changbunjong et al, 2018, Cywinska et al, 2010, de Souza Pinto, 2023, Machado et al, 2017, Posada-López et al, 2023, Rivera & Currie, 2009, Votýpka et al, 2019.…”

Diversity of sand flies and Leishmania parasites in an active cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission site in rural Guatemala, 2022

“…The 658-bp DNA barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) was ampli ed using the invertebrate-speci c primers LCO1490 (5'-GGTCAACAAATCATAAAGATATTGG-3') and HCO2198 (5'-TAAACTTCAGGGTGACCAAAAAATCA-3') (22,23). PCR reactions were performed in an Eppendorf Mastercycler Gradient 5331 (Eppendorf, USA) with a total volume of 20 µl, including 3 µl of DNA extract, 1X of Platinum II Hot Start Master Mix (Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher Scienti c), 0.2 µM of each primer, and nuclease-free water.…”

Molecular Characterization and Identification of Grasshopper Pests of Rice Inferred From Mitochondrial COI Gene Sequences

“…DNA barcoding is an effective tool for molecular identification of insects, especially grasshoppers (Cywinska et al 2006). The fundamental purpose of DNA barcoding is to standardize molecular methods for complementary morphological species identification (Azpurua et al 2010, Gutierrez et al 2014, Adeniran et al 2019. Six grasshopper species were identified that were collected from different paddy fields.…”