Molecular characterization and phylogenetic assessment of agricultural-related noctuids (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of South America

SAN BLAS, GERMÁN; BAUDINO, ESTELA; SILVA DIAS, F.M.; DOLIBAINA, D.R.; SPECHT, ALEXANDRE; CASAGRANDE, MIRNA M.; CORNEJO, PAULA; GUILLOT GIRAUDO, WALTER; MIELKE, OLAF H. H.

REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ENTOMOLOGIA

SOC BRASILEIRA ENTOMOLOGIA

Año: 2022 vol. 65 p. 1 - 14

0085-5626

Accurate identification of species is a basic and key component in every biological research, being even more important for decisions on pest management. While quite effective, traditional morphological identification is a time-consuming technique involving skilled manpower, unlike molecular identification, which is a rapid tool with increasingly lower costs. However, molecular identification requires the availability of a database of previously sequenced and correctly identified specimens. For most countries of South America, species of noctuids with available sequences are scarce, mostly restricted to a few species of economic importance, making molecular identification untenable. Here we sequenced the mitochondrial DNA ‘barcode’ region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of 26 species of South American noctuids, 23 of these for the first time. For all species, genetic distances were higher for interspecific than for intraspecific relations, supporting the utility of DNA ‘barcodes’ to identify species. Furthermore, we carried out phylogenetic analyses with those sequences and 158 other sequences of 85 species of different noctuids mined from GenBank. These analyses, in every case, grouped species of the same genus suggesting that the DNA ‘barcodes’ region alone is useful for lower level phylogeny in this group. These results will allow identifying these species using DNA ‘barcodes’, either for pest management or general biological studies.