Evaluating the diversity of Neotropical anurans using DNA barcodes.

Ruth A. Estupiñán,Marcelo Vallinoto,Stephen F. Ferrari,Maria Paula Cruz Schneider,Evonnildo. C. Gonçalves,Maria Silvanira R. Barbosa

doi:10.3897/zookeys.637.8637

Abstract

This study tested the effectiveness of COI barcodes for the discrimination of anuran species from the Amazon basin and other Neotropical regions. Barcodes were determined for a total of 59 species, with a further 58 species being included from GenBank. In most cases, distinguishing species using the barcodes was straightforward. Each species had a distinct COI barcode or codes, with intraspecific distances ranging from 0% to 9.9%. However, relatively high intraspecific divergence (11.4–19.4%) was observed in some species, such as Ranitomeya ventrimaculata, Craugastor fitzingeri, Hypsiboas leptolineatus, Scinax fuscomarginatus and Leptodactylus knudseni, which may reflect errors of identification or the presence of a species complex. Intraspecific distances recorded in species for which samples were obtained from GenBank (Engystomops pustulosus, Atelopus varius, Craugastor podiciferus, and Dendropsophus labialis) were greater than those between many pairs of species. Interspecific distances ranged between 11–39%. Overall, the clear differences observed between most intra- and inter-specific distances indicate that the COI barcode is an effective tool for the identification of Neotropical species in most of the cases analyzed in the present study.

Highlights

Many amphibian groups are morphologically homogeneous and tend to lack clear diagnostic traits
The present study evaluated the potential of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene as a barcode, used in combination with other traits, for the identification of Neotropical amphibians from the Amazon basin and other regions of South America
A single mitochondrial DNA barcode, derived from the COI gene, identified correctly 93 of the 109 Neotropical amphibian species analyzed in the present study

Summary

Introduction

Many amphibian groups are morphologically homogeneous and tend to lack clear diagnostic traits This means that, while there have been a number of recent advances, the taxonomy of amphibians is poorly resolved in general The intrageneric diversity of the amphibians appears to be underestimated in most cases (e.g., Bossuyt et al 2004; Crawford et al 2010; De la Riva et al 2000; Fouquet et al 2007; Vieites et al 2009) In this context, the accelerating global decline and changes in amphibian populations (Hoffmann, et al 2010, McCallum, 2007; Stuart et al 2004; Narins et al 2014), as well as the cryptic diversity reported for several taxa (Fouquet et al 2007; Crawford et al 2013), implies that many still undescribed species may be disappearing from the Neotropical region before they have even been identified (Collins 2010). A number of species of the genus Rana have been recognized in recent years, based on molecular methods (Newman et al 2012), for example, and through comparisons with other amphibian species (Channing et al 2013; Hasan et al 2014; Biju et al 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion