RESUMEN

Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are small blood-feeding dipterans that are primary vectors of numerous human and livestock pathogens. Effective surveillance programs with accurate identification tools are critical in development and implementation of modern integrated pest management programs. Although morphological keys are available for North American species, identification can still be challenging owing to the nature of sample preparation and incompatibility with molecular or biochemical-based pathology assays. Further, the potential for introduction of Old World or other exotic species is not accounted for by current keys. Herein, we present the development and validation of a restriction fragment-length polymorphism-based molecular identification method. Specifically, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, a mitochondrial DNA marker, was used to distinguish two species of adult sand flies indigenous to eastern North America with two exotic species not yet known to occur in the United States.

Asunto(s)

Análisis del Polimorfismo de Longitud de Fragmentos Amplificados/métodos , Insectos Vectores/clasificación , Insectos Vectores/genética , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/métodos , Psychodidae/clasificación , Psychodidae/genética , Animales , Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/genética , Complejo IV de Transporte de Electrones/metabolismo , Proteínas de Insectos/genética , Proteínas de Insectos/metabolismo , Kentucky , Proteínas Mitocondriales/genética , Proteínas Mitocondriales/metabolismo , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Homología de Secuencia , Tennessee