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Sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) from Philornis seguyi (García, 1952) and Philornis torquans (Nielsen, 1913) (Diptera: Muscidae)

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Abstract

Philornis Meinert, 1890 (Diptera: Muscidae) is a genus of Neotropical dipterans that parasitise birds. The currently used external morphological characters to distinguish between species within this genus present some limitations. We used the second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS2) of the rRNA gene as a molecular marker to differentiate adult specimens of Philornis identified morphologically as Philornis torquans and Philornis seguyi from different localities. Specimens identified as P. seguyi from Magdalena (Buenos Aires Province) showed an ITS2 sequence different from that for P. torquans, whereas all other specimens of P. seguyi had sequences identical to those for P. torquans. These findings do not necessarily confirm that specimens from Magdalena indeed belong to P. seguyi, nor that P. seguyi is a valid species. Instead, they alert us about the potential for species misidentification when using morphological characters alone. The use of molecular approaches to aid the identification of Philornis spp. will shed light on the systematics of this group. P. torquans is reported for the first time in Mendoza Province and Uruguay.

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Acknowledgements

We would especially like to thank Leandro Raúl Antoniazzi, Guido Loza and Dante Di Nucci for their assistance in fieldwork. Dr. Hugo H. Ortega kindly made available the facilities and equipment of his Molecular Biology Laboratory to conduct part of the molecular work. All procedures conducted in this study comply with the current National and Provincial laws, and were approved by the Bioethics Committee of Universidad Nacional del Litoral. This work was funded by the Argentine Council for Research and Technology (Grant No. PIP–1122010010026) and by the Morris Animal Foundation (Grant No. D08ZO-304).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades, Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias del Litoral (ICiVet Litoral), Universidad Nacional del Litoral—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (UNL—CONICET), Santa Fe, Argentina

    Lucas D. Monje, Martín Quiroga, Darío Manzoli, Leonardo Silvestri & Pablo M. Beldomenico

  2. Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista, Sao Cristovao, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Márcia S. Couri

  3. Departamento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Regional Norte, Salto, Uruguay

    José M. Venzal

  4. Centro de Investigación en Parasitología Regional, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Ambientales, Universidad Juan A. Maza, Mendoza, Argentina

    Pablo Cuervo

Authors
  1. Lucas D. Monje
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  2. Martín Quiroga
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  3. Darío Manzoli
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  4. Márcia S. Couri
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  5. Leonardo Silvestri
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  6. José M. Venzal
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  7. Pablo Cuervo
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  8. Pablo M. Beldomenico
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Correspondence to Lucas D. Monje.

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Monje, L.D., Quiroga, M., Manzoli, D. et al. Sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) from Philornis seguyi (García, 1952) and Philornis torquans (Nielsen, 1913) (Diptera: Muscidae). Syst Parasitol 86, 43–51 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-013-9428-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-013-9428-5

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