New molecular identifiers for Simulium limbatum and Simulium incrustatum s.l. and the detection of genetic substructure with potential implications for onchocerciasis epidemiology in the Amazonia focus of Brazil

The mitogenome of Onchocerca volvulus from the Brazilian Amazonia focus

“…The Amazonia onchocerciasis focus is the last of the Latin American foci where O. volvulus transmission is still considered to be on-going and as such poses the principal source of risk for new infections ( Luz et al 2014 , Crainey et al 2016 , unpublished observations). As mitochondria usually occur in very high copy number within animal cells, they have become a popular target for both parasite and vector molecular diagnostics, taxonomy, and population studies ( Post et al 2009 , Conceição et al 2013 , Crainey et al 2014 ). The availability of a complete O. volvulus mitogenome from South America provides a unique opportunity to characterise single nucleotide variant (SNV) loci as well as glean new insights into the parasites’ epidemiological and evolutionary history.…”

Dimorphic male scutal patterns and upper-eye facets of Simulium mirum n. sp. (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Malaysia

“…The pupae of these two forms of males are morphologically indistinguishable from each other, and usually coexist in the same habitats, strongly suggesting a single species with dimorphism in the male scutal color pattern linked with a different number of upper-eye facets. Our DNA analyses show that both forms of males are conspecific, although they can be genetically differentiated by locations, a common observation in black flies [ 22 , 23 ]. Further, our genetic data clearly show that S. mirum n. sp.…”