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Filling the gaps in the classification of the Digenea Carus, 1863: systematic position of the Proterodiplostomidae Dubois, 1936 within the superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886, inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences

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Abstract

The Diplostomida Olson, Cribb, Tkach, Bray & Littlewood, 2003 is the less diverse order of the two orders within the subclass Digenea Carus, 1863 and is currently classified into three superfamilies, i.e. Brachylaimoidea Joyeux & Foley, 1930, Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886, and Schistosomatoidea Stiles & Hassall, 1898. Although the suprageneric-level relationships have been elucidated with the use of molecular markers, the lack of representation of some groups obscure the phylogenetic relationships among families, rendering the classification unstable. Here, we tested the phylogenetic position of the family Proterodiplostomidae Dubois, 1936 based on partial 28S rDNA and complete 18S rDNA sequences for Crocodilicola pseudostoma (Willemoes-Suhm, 1870), a crocodile parasite that has been found as a progenetic metacercaria parasitising the pale catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis (Günther) in Mexico and in other siluruforms in the Neotropics. We augmented the representation of the species, genera and families within the Diplostomida, including mostly representatives of the superfamily Diplostomoidea, and assembled a dataset that contains 49 species for the 28S rRNA gene, and 45 species for the 18S rRNA gene. Additionally, we explored the phylogenetic signal of the mitochondrial gene cox1 in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of selected members of the superfamily. Our analyses showed that the family Proterodiplostomidae is the sister taxon to the paraphyletic Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886 and Strigeidae Railliet, 1919, with Cyathocotylidae Mühling, 1898 + Brauninidae Wolf, 1903 as their sister group. Analysis of concatenated 18S + 28S sequences revealed the Liolopidae Odhner, 1912 as the basal group of the superfamily Diplostomoidea, although analyses of independent datasets showed that the position of this family remains uncertain. Analysis based on cox1 unequivocally resolved the Proterodiplostomidae as the sister taxon to the Diplostomidae and Strigeidae, although the Cyathocotylidae was nested in a different clade, along with brachylaimoids and schistosomatoids.

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Acknowledgements

This study represent a partial fulfillment of DIHM for the requirements to obtain PhD degree in the Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. DIHM also thanks the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for student grant 245193. We thank Dr. Miguel Rubio-Godoy for the donation of specimens of Mesostephanus for molecular work. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This project was funded by the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (PAPIIT-UNAM) IN204514 and IN202617 to GPPL, and PAPIIT-UNAM IN206716 to M.G.V.

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  1. Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    David Iván Hernández-Mena, Martín García-Varela & Gerardo Pérez-Ponce de León

  2. Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    David Iván Hernández-Mena

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  1. David Iván Hernández-Mena
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Correspondence to Gerardo Pérez-Ponce de León.

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All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Hosts were collected under the Cartilla Nacional de Colector Científico de Flora y Fauna Silvestre FAUT-0057 and 0202 issued to GPPL and MGV, respectively, by the Secretaria del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.

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Hernández-Mena, D.I., García-Varela, M. & Pérez-Ponce de León, G. Filling the gaps in the classification of the Digenea Carus, 1863: systematic position of the Proterodiplostomidae Dubois, 1936 within the superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886, inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Syst Parasitol 94, 833–848 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-017-9745-1

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