Water Mite Diversity (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Parasitengonina: Hydrachnidiae) from Karst Ecosystems in Southern of Mexico: A Barcoding Approach

Abstract

Water mites represent the most diverse and abundant group of Arachnida in freshwater ecosystems, with about 6000 species described; however, it is estimated that this number represents only 30% of the total expected species. Despite having strong biotic interactions with their community and having the potential to be exceptional bioindicators, they are frequently excluded from studies of water quality or ecology, due to actual and perceived difficulties of taxonomic identification in this group. The objective of this study is to use the variations in the sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), also known as the DNA barcodes region, as a tool to assess the diversity of water mites at 24 sites in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. We found 77 genetic groups or putative species corresponding to 18 genera: Arrenurus, Atractides, Centrolimnesia, Eylais, Geayia, Hydrodroma, Hydryphantes, Hygrobates, Koenikea, Krendowskia, Limnesia, Limnochares, Mamersellides, Mideopsis, Neumania, Piona, Torrenticola, and Unionicola. This was significant, since there are only 35 species described for this region. Furthermore, this molecular information has allowed us to infer that there are characteristic assemblies per site. These data will facilitate the incorporation of water mites in different studies while the curatorial work continues to assign a Linnaean name.

Dna Barcodes, a Powerful Tool for a Rapid Construction of a Baseline and Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems in Sian Ka’an Reserve (Quintana Roo State, Mexico) And Adjacent Areas

“…Though several BIN's are shared among all systems, the Sørensen analysis shows that each system has a unique assemblage of species. This singularity for each aquatic system makes evident the fragility of these ecosystems in the whole region and confirms previous analyses with mites [40]. We do not know why each system has a unique assemblage of species if they eventually can be connected in the surface after floods or through the complex underground system of rivers.…”

“…The high diversity of mites in this region was noticed in two previous studies [16,40]. Their relevance as indicators of water quality is well known [41].…”

“…Some of them as representatives of Limnesia (ACY7380), Unionicola (AEB1594), or some Pionidae (AEA4808), and Eylaidae (AEA5669 and AEA4696) were present in only one system (Fig. 3) [40]. Simplified ID tree for Arachnida represented in the samples.…”

The Future of DNA Barcoding: Reflections from Early Career Researchers

“…The application of DNA barcoding to species discovery and identification is wellestablished, including the ability of the methodology to cope with different life stages and provide insights into cryptic species diversity [39]. Since these initial applications, rapid species identification with DNA barcodes has been deployed in several fields, including forensic science [40], control of the food supply chain [6], and understanding disease [41].…”

Biodiversity of Mites

“…Public databases, including the Barcode of Life Database (www.boldsystems.org) or GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), as well as the use of new bioinformatic tools, represent a breakthrough in species identification. This line of research is represented by the studies of Montes-Ortiz and Elías-Gutiérrez [9], who investigated water mites in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Applying the above-mentioned method, these authors identified 77 genetic groups or putative species corresponding to 18 genera.…”