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The Mayfly Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 2 Article 1 4-1-2008 The Mayfly Newsletter Peter M. Grant Southwestern Oklahoma State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mayfly Recommended Citation Grant, Peter M. (2008) "The Mayfly Newsletter," The Mayfly Newsletter: Vol. 15 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mayfly/vol15/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Newsletters at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Mayfly Newsletter by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MAYFLY NEWSLETTER Vol. 15 No. 2 Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, Oklahoma 73096-3098 USA April 2008 DNA and Mayfly Taxonomy DNA Barcoding North American Mayflies - Large-scale DNA Sequencing in Taxonomy A Call for International Collaboration and Conservation: A Case Study with the Mayfly Family Heptageniidae Xin Zhou1, Luke M. Jacobus2 and Paul D. N. Hebert1 (Ephemeroptera) in the Alps and 1 Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding, Biodiversity Madagascar Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Laurent Vuataz, Michel Sartori, Olivier Glaizot and Jean-Luc NIG 2W1, Canada, [email protected],2Department Gattolliat, Musee cantonal de zoologie, Palais de Rumine, of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 East 3rd Street, Place de la Riponne 6, CH-1014 Lausanne, Switzerland, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7005, USA [email protected]. In collaboration with Luca Fumagalli, Lausanne University, and Michael Monaghan, Natural Because mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are common in many History Museum, London, UK. freshwater habitats, they are widely used in freshwater biomonitoring. However, difficulties in species-level Advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing and analysis identifications and the uncertainty of certain life stage are transforming most aspects of organismal biology, but ^associations present a major impediment. The recently their potential for the study of biodiversity, taxonomy, and inched DNA barcoding initiative can help to standardize evolution has yet to be fully realized. Applied to whole identifications and enable confident association of larval and communities and entire faunas, large-scale sequencing could adult stages. provide rapid species inventories and a means to characterize DNA barcoding is based on the observation that a short, biodiversity where an existing taxonomy is incomplete or standardized segment of the genome can enable species absent. The need for such advances is critical - only 10-20% identification and discovery. There is now clear evidence of Earth’s species have been formally described and the rate that a 658-bp segment positioned near the 5' terminus of the of conventional species description would require a 1000- mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene fold increase to meet the existing taxonomic needs of the is extraordinarily effective in discriminating members of global community (Seberg, 2004). This is particularly true the animal kingdom, allowing unambiguous identification for the functionally important but morphologically cryptic of more than 98% of animal species in studies that have meio- and micro-fauna (Blaxter et al., 2004). Freshwater examined a wide range of taxonomic groups. ecosystems are the most threatened of the world’s natural A large-scale program to identity North American resources (Abell, 2002), and the knowledge of their fauna is freshwater macroinvertebrates utilizing COI sequences particularly relevant for conservation purposes (Dudgeon et has been launched by the Canadian Centre for DNA al., 2006). Barcoding (CCDB, http://www.dnabarcoding.ca) at the Here we develop novel, DNA-based methods to provide University of Guelph. In order to develop this approach to (Continued on p. 6) the identification of aquatic insects, a COI barcode reference library must first be established from expertly identified specimens. Once a COI barcode is linked with a named Inside This Issue species, query sequences from unidentified specimens can Course on South American Mayflies.................................3 be compared with the reference barcode and suggested Mayfly Conference Update................................................4 identifications are generated based on the result. Conference Auction...........................................................4 Among all freshwater macroinvertebrates, mayflies clearly Hosting a Conference.........................................................5 deserve high priority for developing a barcode reference Copies of Proceedings........................................................ 5 brary because of their great diversity and abundance. Thus, Members of the Permanent Committee.............................5 searchers at the CCDB are launching an international Online Entomology Publications.......................................6 (Continued on p. 2) 2006 Mayfly Bibliography................................................7 The Mayfly Newsletter is printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink. (Zhou et al., continued from p. 1) should be kept in a refrigerator when possible. Unfortunately, DNA barcoding project with the aim of barcoding all mayfly specimens, especially adults, become very brittle mayfly species of the Nearctic fauna. Because there are in high concentration ethanol. A potential solution would more than 600 species of mayflies in North America, no be preparing a separate set of specimens for DNA analysis. single researcher or institute can carry out this project. Alternatively, legs can be pulled and kept in 95% ethanol for However, the task can be completed through an international DNA purpose while the remainder of the specimens can be collaboration involving mayfly systematists, freshwater stored in the traditional way. ecologists, and biomonitoring specialists. All collaborators Male adults and larvae are preferred, but female adults will benefit from the results of this project - barcode can also be used, especially if they have been identified sequences will advance our understanding of mayfly biology to species-level by association with identifiable stages. by discovering cryptic species, by revealing cases of over Our recent study on the Ephemeroptera of the Great splitting, by supplementing the description of new species, Smoky Mountains National Park has shown that life-stage by associating life stages, by tracing dispersion histories, and associations for most species were correct. In order to by creating an easy system for the identification of any life measure the levels of genetic divergence within species, stage of any species. we plan to analyze multiple (>5) individuals for each The tool of DNA barcoding shows great potential for use species. The widest range of intraspecific morphological by those studying the systematics of many Ephemeroptera differentiation from the widest geographic distribution species groups. One example of the utility of barcoding is should be included when choosing the particular individuals the verification of stage associations, especially those not for DNA analysis. made by careful rearing. Recent revisionary work on the Museum materials family Ephemerellidae Klapalek provides an illustration. While fresh materials are preferred for establishing DNA The species concept of Ephemerella altana Allen, a western barcode library, museum collections may serve as an Nearctic taxon, had been based on a larva belonging to alternative and critical resource. Although museum materials the genus Ephemerella Walsh and an adult of Serratella generally have lower success rate in DNA sequencing, they Edmunds. Had barcoding technology been available at the typically provide much more complete species coverage time of E. altana's discovery and description, it potentially than new collection efforts. Additionally, freshly collected could have shown that this association was erroneous. specimens can be examined against the type specimens Furthermore, barcoding could have helped to resolve the that are deposited in various museums over the world using species identities of the larva and adult. Based on traditional DNA sequences. A series of studies have shown that a specimen comparisons, the larva is thought to be that of the very short fragment of COI sequences (—130 bps on the 5’ transcontinental species, Ephemerella excrucians Walsh, terminus) can provide surprisingly good resolution (>95%) and the adult to be that of the western species, Serratella for species-level identification in Lepidoptera as well as in micheneri (Traver). Ephemerella excrucians exhibits an Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT). Because amazing amount of morphological variability throughout short DNA fragments are much easier to amplify in old its wide geographic range, which begs the question of specimens, museum materials, including type specimens, whether the current species concept might contain various can be associated with fresh materials using these “mini cryptic lineages that are unrecognizable by traditional, barcodes.” morphological means. Barcoding technology could be used Identification of mayfly specimens to study various populations, including those from type Since the barcoding project was launched in mid-2007, locales, and could provide a guideline for decisions about mayfly specimens have been contributed from various species