Towards the implementation of a DNA barcode library for the identification of Peruvian species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The genus Anastrepha is a diverse lineage of fruit-damaging tephritid flies widespread across the Neotropical Region. Accurate taxonomic identification of these flies is therefore of paramount importance in agricultural contexts. DNA barcoding libraries are molecularbased tools based on a short sequence of the mitochondrial COI gene enabling rapid taxonomic identification of biological species. In this study, we evaluate the utility of this method for species identification of Peruvian species of Anastrepha and assemble a preliminary barcode profile for the group. We obtained 73 individual sequences representing the 15 most common species, 13 of which were either assigned to previously recognized or newly established BINs. Intraspecific genetic divergence between sampled species averaged 1.01% (range 0-3.3%), whereas maximum interspecific values averaged 8.67 (range 8.26-17.12%). DNA barcoding was found to be an effective method to discriminate between many Peruvian species of Anastrepha that were tested, except for most species of the fraterculus species group, which were all assigned to the same BIN as they shared similar and, in some cases, identical barcodes. We complemented this newly produced dataset with 86 published sequences to build a DNA barcoding library of 159 sequences representing 56 Peruvian species of Anastrepha (approx. 58% of species reported from that country). We conclude that DNA barcoding is an effective method to distinguish among Peruvian species of Anastrepha outside the fraterculus group, and that complementary methods (e.g., morphometrics, additional genetic markers) would be desirable to assist sensu stricto species identification for phytosanitary surveillance and management practices of this important group of pestiferous flies.

New Host Plant and Distribution Records of Anastrepha Species (Diptera: Tephritidae) Primarily from the Western Amazon

“…Distribution.— Anastrepha nolazcoae is known only from Peru (Amazonas, Cajamarca, Huánuco, San Martín, Madre de Dios) (Norrbom and Korytkowski 2011, Barr et al 2017, Bartolini et al 2020).…”

“…The larvae fed on the fleshy part of the seed chamber and the seeds (Figs. 117,118) (Norrbom and Korytkowski 2011, Bartolini et al 2020.…”

Novel Pipeline for Large-Scale Comparative Population Genetics

“…BINs were used to represent species. Several studies have found strong correlation between BINs and species in Diptera (Bartolini et al, 2020, Hernandez-Triana et al, 2017, Yu et al, 2020. For example, when Bartolini et al (2020), sorted morphological Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) species into BINs, they created 14 BINs for the 16 species represented.…”

“…Several studies have found strong correlation between BINs and species in Diptera (Bartolini et al, 2020, Hernandez-Triana et al, 2017, Yu et al, 2020. For example, when Bartolini et al (2020), sorted morphological Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) species into BINs, they created 14 BINs for the 16 species represented. Hernandez-Triana et al (2017) created 29 BINs for 28 Simuliidae species, and Yu et al (2020) sorted 5 Chironomidae species into seven BINs.…”

Exceptional larval morphology of nine species of the Anastrepha mucronota species group (Diptera, Tephritidae)

“…Distribution. Anastrepha nolazcoae is known only from Peru (Amazonas, Cajamarca, Huánuco, San Martín) (Norrbom and Korytkowski 2011;Barr et al 2017;Bartolini et al 2020).…”