New molecular barcodes of water mites (Trombidiformes: Hydrachnidiae) from the Toledo Harbor region of Western Lake Erie, USA, with first barcodes for<i>Krendowskia</i>(Krendowskiidae) and<i>Koenikea</i>(Unionicolidae)

Vasquez, Adrian A.; Qazazi, Milad S.; Fisher, J. Ray; Failla, Andrew J.; Rama, Sanjay; Ram, Jeffrey L.

doi:10.1080/01647954.2017.1349178

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…We tested the reliability of techniques commonly used to identify and delimit species using fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene ( cox 1) [31, 48] and the D1-D2 region of the LSU rDNA gene ( 28S ) [49], or using both (e.g. [28, 50–52]). This study aims at improving knowledge and analytical techniques for assessing Hydrachnidia diversity in springs and explores the strength and weaknesses of standardized barcoding loci to identify water mite species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden biodiversity revealed by integrated morphology and genetic species delimitation of spring dwelling water mite species (Acari, Parasitengona: Hydrachnidia)

2019

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BackgroundWater mites are among the most diverse organisms inhabiting freshwater habitats and are considered as substantial part of the species communities in springs. As parasites, Hydrachnidia influence other invertebrates and play an important role in aquatic ecosystems. In Europe, 137 species are known to appear solely in or near springheads. New species are described frequently, especially with the help of molecular species identification and delimitation methods. The aim of this study was to verify the mainly morphology-based taxonomic knowledge of spring-inhabiting water mites of central Europe and to build a genetic species identification library.MethodsWe sampled 65 crenobiontic species across the central Alps and tested the suitability of mitochondrial (cox1) and nuclear (28S) markers for species delimitation and identification purposes. To investigate both markers, distance- and phylogeny-based approaches were applied. The presence of a barcoding gap was tested by using the automated barcoding gap discovery tool and intra- and interspecific genetic distances were investigated. Furthermore, we analyzed phylogenetic relationships between different taxonomic levels.ResultsA high degree of hidden diversity was observed. Seven taxa, morphologically identified as Bandakia concreta Thor, 1913, Hygrobates norvegicus (Thor, 1897), Ljania bipapillata Thor, 1898, Partnunia steinmanni Walter, 1906, Wandesia racovitzai Gledhill, 1970, Wandesia thori Schechtel, 1912 and Zschokkea oblonga Koenike, 1892, showed high intraspecific cox1 distances and each consisted of more than one phylogenetic clade. A clear intraspecific threshold between 5.6–6.0% K2P distance is suitable for species identification purposes. The monophyly of Hydrachnidia and the main superfamilies is evident with different species clearly separated into distinct clades. cox1 separates water mite species but is unsuitable for resolving higher taxonomic levels.ConclusionsWater mite species richness in springs is higher than has been suggested based on morphological species identification alone and further research is needed to evaluate the true diversity. The standard molecular species identification marker cox1 can be used to identify species but should be complemented by a nuclear marker, e.g. 28S, to resolve taxonomic relationships. Our results contribute to the taxonomical knowledge on spring inhabiting Hydrachnida, which is indispensable for the development and implementation of modern environment assessment methods, e.g. metabarcoding, in spring ecology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden biodiversity revealed by integrated morphology and genetic species delimitation of spring dwelling water mite species (Acari, Parasitengona: Hydrachnidia)

2019

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“…Sampling reports on groups in ecological studies often just group water mites in the "other" category or simply "Acari", diminishing their potential importance at species or even generic level by omission. Since then, we have improved this database, highlighting the great diversity of water mites in several Great Lakes sites [2,20]. Given the predator-prey interactions that the present work reveals, this update on current knowledge of water mites prey in the Great Lakes region may help gain increased recognition of these organisms in food web dynamics and a greater appreciation of their ecosystem services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Molecular diet studies of water mites reveal prey biodiversity

Vasquez

Mohiddin

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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Water mites are diverse aquatic invertebrates that provide potentially important ecosystem and economic services as bioindicators and mosquito biocontrol; however, little is known about water mite digestive physiology, including their diet in nature. Water mites, much like their spider relatives, liquefy their prey upon consumption. This results in the absence of morphologically identifiable prey in water mite mid-gut. Previous studies have reported associations in the field of water mites with presumed prey and laboratory observations of water mites feeding on specific organisms offered for ingestion; however, the present work aims to determine what water mites have ingested in nature based on molecular studies of gut contents from freshly collected organisms from the field. To elucidate water mite prey, we used next-generation sequencing to detect diverse cytochrome oxidase I DNA barcode sequences of putative prey in the guts of 54 specimens comprising two species of Lebertia and a few specimens of Arrenurus (2) and Limnesia (1). To our knowledge this is the first molecular study of the diets of water mites as they feed in nature. While the presence of chironomid DNA confirmed previous observations of midge larvae as part of the diets of Lebertia, we also found the DNA of diverse organisms in all four species of water mites, including the DNA of mosquitoes in 6 specimens of Lebertia and a large number of previously unknown prey, especially from oligochaete worms. These studies thereby reveal a greater diversity of prey and a potentially broader significance than previously appreciated for water mites in aquatic food webs. Molecular studies like this can detect water mite predators of mosquito larvae and add knowledge of water mite predatory contributions to freshwater food webs.

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“…DNA barcodes have been assisting with taxonomy since the development of metazoan primers called Folmer primers [19]. A combination of classical taxonomy and COI DNA barcodes helped us previously in multiple projects on biodiversity, invasive species detection, and clarification of cryptic species [18,[20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Chironomid Barcode Database Enhances Identification of Water Mite Dietary Content

et al. 2022

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Chironomids are one of the most biodiverse and abundant members of freshwater ecosystems. They are a food source for many organisms, including fish and water mites. The accurate identification of chironomids is essential for many applications in ecological research, including determining which chironomid species are present in the diets of diverse predators. Larval and adult chironomids from diverse habitats, including lakes, rivers, inland gardens, coastal vegetation, and nearshore habitats of the Great Lakes, were collected from 2012 to 2019. After morphological identification of chironomids, DNA was extracted and cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcodes were PCR amplified and sequenced. Here we describe an analysis of biodiverse adult and larval chironomids in the Great Lakes region of North America based on new collections to improve chironomid identification by curating a chironomid DNA barcode database, thereby expanding the diversity and taxonomic specificity of DNA reference libraries for the Chironomidae family. In addition to reporting many novel chironomid DNA barcodes, we demonstrate here the use of this chironomid COI barcode database to improve the identification of DNA barcodes of prey in the liquefied diets of water mites. The species identifications of the COI barcodes of chironomids ingested by Lebertia davidcooki and L. quinquemaculosa are more diverse for L. davidcooki and include Parachironomus abortivus, Cryptochironomus ponderosus. Parachironomus tenuicaudatus, Glyptotendipes senilis, Dicrotendipes modestus, Chironomus riparius, Chironomus entis/plumosus, Chironomus maturus, Chironomus crassicaudatus, Endochironomus subtendens, Cricotopus sylvestris, Cricotopus festivellus, Orthocladius obumbratus, Tanypus punctipennis, Rheotanytarsus exiguus gr., and Paratanytarsus nr. bituberculatus.

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New molecular barcodes of water mites (Trombidiformes: Hydrachnidiae) from the Toledo Harbor region of Western Lake Erie, USA, with first barcodes forKrendowskia(Krendowskiidae) andKoenikea(Unionicolidae)

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Hidden biodiversity revealed by integrated morphology and genetic species delimitation of spring dwelling water mite species (Acari, Parasitengona: Hydrachnidia)

Hidden biodiversity revealed by integrated morphology and genetic species delimitation of spring dwelling water mite species (Acari, Parasitengona: Hydrachnidia)

Molecular diet studies of water mites reveal prey biodiversity

Improved Chironomid Barcode Database Enhances Identification of Water Mite Dietary Content

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