Search results for "DNA barcoding"
showing 10 items of 80 documents
Exposing the structure of an Arctic food web
2015
15 pages; International audience; How food webs are structured has major implications for their stability and dynamics. While poorly studied to date, arctic food webs are commonly assumed to be simple in structure, with few links per species. If this is the case, then different parts of the web may be weakly connected to each other, with populations and species united by only a low number of links. We provide the first highly resolved description of trophic link structure for a large part of a high-arctic food web. For this purpose, we apply a combination of recent techniques to describing the links between three predator guilds (insectivorous birds, spiders, and lepidopteran parasitoids) a…
DNA barcoding for species assignment: the case of Mediterranean marine fishes
2014
Background: DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI) constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity. Methodology/Principal Findings: A dataset of 1278 DNA barcodes, representing 218 marine fish species, was used to test the utility of DNA barcodes…
Evaluation of criteria for species delimitation of bagworm moths (Lepidoptera: Psychidae)
2014
Accurate identification of species is fundamental for biological research and necessary for species conservation. DNA bar- coding is particularly useful when identification using morphological characteristics is laborious and/or unreliable. However, bar- codes for species are dependent on the availability of reference sequences from correctly identified specimens. The traditional use of morphology to delimit the species boundaries of Finnish bagworm moths (Lepidoptera: Psychidae: Naryciinae: Dahliciini) is contro- versial because there is overlap in their morphological characteristics. In addition, there are no suitable molecular markers. We veri- fied the delimitation of seven out of eight…
Detection of multiple species of humanParagonimusfrom Mexico using morphological data and molecular barcodes
2013
Paragonimus mexicanus is the causal agent of human paragonimiasis in several countries of the Americas. It is considered to be the only species of the genus present in Mexico, where it is responsible for human infection. Through the investigation of P. mexicanus specimens from several places throughout Mexico, we provide morphological, molecular and geographical evidence that strongly suggests the presence of at least three species from this genus in Mexico. These results raise questions regarding the diagnosis, treatment, prophylaxis and control of human paragonimiasis in Mexico. We also provide a brief discussion regarding biodiversity inventories and the convenience of providing molecula…
The ‘giant phyllosoma’ are larval stages of Parribacus antarcticus (Decapoda : Scyllaridae)
2014
Early reports on larval distributions are frustratingly obscure due to ambiguous identification of plankton samples. A particularly striking case is posed by the so-called ‘giant phyllosoma’ which attain 80 mm in total length and are among the largest larvae known in marine invertebrates. Based on the supposition that these giant larvae are produced by local species, Philip Robertson (1968) assigned them to Parribacus. In the present study, 12 phyllosoma larvae collected in the Coral Sea and corresponding to intermediate stages VI to IX are described in detail. The identity of these freshly caught specimens was confirmed as belonging to Parribacus antarcticus (Lund, 1793) by using DNA barco…
A molecular study of Neophyllaphis varicolor (Hemiptera, Aphididae) in Costa Rica
2019
The genus Neophyllaphis (Takahashi) (Aphididae: Neophyllaphidinae) is composed of 18 species; however, in the Americas only nine species have been reported previously. A new species, Neophyllaphis varicolor Miller & Halbert, was described in 2014 in USA. Colonies resembling those of this new species have been observed in Costa Rica on Podocarpus spp. In order to determine if N. varicolor is also present in Costa Rica, we sampled Neophyllaphis colonies from Podocarpus falcatus and P. chinensis. Additionally, we sampled individuals from Podocarpus sp. in Spain and Vietnam. DNA of each sample was extracted and used to amplify and sequence the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and elongation…
A new Northeast Asian Lynceus (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Laevicaudata) with uniquely modified thoracopods and an evaluation of DNA barcoding for clam …
2020
A new species of smooth clam shrimp (Branchiopoda: Laevicaudata) from Mongolia and China is described here based on both morphological and genetic differences. The new species, Lynceus grossipedia n. sp., has unique features, including asymmetrically modified male thoracopods (left side thoracopods III-VI), male claspers “movable finger” (=endopod) with delicate setation, and broad, bicarinate male and female rostrum. Lynceus grossipedia n. sp. is compared with the genera Paralimnetis Gurney, 1931 and Lynceiopsis Daday, 1912 and a recently described Lynceus Müller, 1776 from China, also showing modified male thoracopods. Lynceus mandsuricus Daday, 1927 is declared nomen inquirendum. DNA bar…
A contribution to the characterization of Ruppia drepanensis (Ruppiaceae), a key species of threatened Mediterranean wetlands
2021
To elucidate the taxonomic status of Ruppia drepanensis Tineo ex Guss. (Alismatales, Ruppiaceae), we performed morphological analysis and DNA barcoding of historical materials (including the lectotype) and fresh samples (including those from a recently discovered population near the locus classicus in Sicily, Italy). We conclude that R. drepanensis is a separate species, closely related to R. spiralis L. ex Dumort., that occurs in temporary inland waters from the western to central sectors of the Mediterranean region. We also highlight the importance of vouchers and the need to link molecular investigations to field, ecological, and morphological investigations.
DNA traces the origin of honey by identifying plants, bacteria and fungi
2021
The regional origin of a food product commonly affects its value. To this, DNA-based identification of tissue remains could offer fine resolution. For honey, this would allow the usage of not only pollen but all plant tissue, and also that of microbes in the product, for discerning the origin. Here we examined how plant, bacterial and fungal taxa identified by DNA metabarcoding and metagenomics differentiate between honey samples from three neighbouring countries. To establish how the taxonomic contents of honey reflect the country of origin, we used joint species distribution modelling. At the lowest taxonomic level by metabarcoding, with operational taxonomic units, the country of origin …