Taxonomical over splitting in the Rhodnius prolixus (Insecta: Hemiptera: Reduviidae) clade: Are R. taquarussuensis (da Rosa et al., 2017) and R. neglectus (Lent, 1954) the same species?

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 2; p. e0211285
• Main Authors: Nascimento, Juliana Damieli, da Rosa, João Aristeu, Salgado-Roa, Fabian C, Hernández, Carolina, Pardo-Diaz, Carolina, Alevi, Kaio Cesar Chaboli, Ravazi, Amanda, de Oliveira, Jader, de Azeredo Oliveira, Maria Tercília Vilela, Salazar, Camilo, Ramírez, Juan David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 07.02.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Chagas' disease; Chromosomes; Computer and Information Sciences; Diagnostic systems; Disease; Disease spread; Disease transmission; Divergence; DNA - chemistry; DNA - isolation & purification; DNA - metabolism; Epidemiology; Evolution; Genetic analysis; Genetics; Genomes; Haplotypes; Hatching; Insect Proteins - genetics; Insect Vectors - genetics; Interspecific; Medicine and Health Sciences; Morphology; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Research and Analysis Methods; Rhodnius - classification; Rhodnius - genetics; Species; Species Specificity; Taxonomy; Vector-borne diseases; Colombia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211285

The use of subtle features as species diagnostic traits in taxa with high morphological similarity sometimes fails in discriminating intraspecific variation from interspecific differences, leading to an incorrect species delimitation. A clear assessment of species boundaries is particularly relevant in disease vector organisms in order to understand epidemiological and evolutionary processes that affect transmission capacity. Here, we assess the validity of the recently described Rhodnius taquarussuensis (da Rosa et al., 2017) using interspecific crosses and molecular markers. We did not detect differences in hatching rates in interspecific crosses between R. taquarussuensis and R. neglectus (Lent, 1954). Furthermore, genetic divergence and species delimitation analyses show that R. taquarussuensis is not an independent lineage in the R. prolixus group. These results suggest that R. taquarussuensis is a phenotypic form of R. neglectus instead of a distinct species. We would like to stress that different sources of evidence are needed to correctly delimit species. We consider this is an important step in understanding vectorial Chagas disease spread and transmission.