Molecular Identification of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Using COI Barcode and D2 Expansion of 28S Gene

The purpose of this study is to improve the identification of Culicidae species from the Vale Ribeira region, São Paulo state, Brazil. Adults were collected in the municipalities of Cananeia and Pariquera-Açu and morphologically identified. Molecular analyses were performed on sequences of COI barcode and a fragment of the D2 expansion of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene generated from field collected mosquitoes. The analyses included species delimitation, phylogeny, and interspecific genetic distances using the Kimura 2-parameter model. Species included in the analyses were Aedes perventor, Aedes scapularis, Aedes serratus/Aedes nubilus, Aedes serratus s.s., Aedes terrens, Haemagogus capricornii, Haemagogus leucocelaenus, Haemagogus janthinomys, Kerteszia bellatrix, Kerteszia cruzii, Psorophora ferox, Psorophora forceps, Sabethes conditus, and Wyeomyia confusa. COI sequences from specimens collected at other localities were included in the analysis for comparison. Results of barcode RESL analysis showed that specimens of Ps. ferox and Hg. janthinomys split into three clusters for each species. Similarly, sequences of Ke. bellatrix and Ke. cruzii were recovered in two groups for each species. Distinct from other species included in analyses, Ps. ferox and Ps. forceps shared 100% similarity in the D2 fragment sequenced. Overall, the analysis of COI barcode sequences revealed the following key findings: (1) the presence of subclades within Hg. janthinomys, with its division into three groups suggests that this species may represent a species complex; (2) Ke. bellatrix from the Atlantic tropical rainforest shares 95.59% sequence similarity with a specimen from the type locality, indicating that specimens from Southeastern Brazil may belong to an unidentified species within the Ke. bellatrix complex; (3) Ke. cruzii also represents a species complex; and (4) D2 sequences successfully identified most species studied, apart from Ps. forceps and Ps. ferox.