Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of tropical bed bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) infestation from different regions of Iraq

Abstract

Bed bug concerns have increased over the past three decades due to a sharp rise in bed bug infestations in human dwellings. Unfortunately, there is little information available regarding the population of bed bugs across Iraq, and no studies have been conducted on genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of bed bugs in Iraq. Hence, this study aims to determine the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of bed bugs collected from major cities in Iraq utilizing partial gene sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I (CO1) and 16S ribosomal RNA 16S rRNA. A total of 1041 bed bug specimens representing various life stages were collected from 18 infested sites across eight of Iraq governorates. Based on the width-to-height ratio of the pronotum, most of the samples were provisionally identified as Cimex hemipterus. The 16S rRNA and CO1 genes that were very similar to C. hemipterus sequences (90–100 % similarity) on BLAST was applied to determine species identity. The 16S rRNA and CO1 gene sequence generated from samples collected in the study exhibited high similarity (90–100 %) to C. hemipterus sequences on BLAST. For constructing phylogenies, maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining algorithms were used. The sequences obtained clustered with C. hemipterus reference sequences retrieved from GenBank confirmed the species identification as C. hemipterus with bootstrap values of 100 % for the CO1 gene and 99 % for the 16SrRNA gene. Furthermore, low genetic diversity was determined among Iraq's bed bug populations. In summary, this study offers molecular demographic knowledge on bed bugs infestation in Iraq for more effective management in future.