Integrated Operational Taxonomic Units (IOTUs) in Echolocating Bats: A Bridge between Molecular and Traditional Taxonomy

Andrea Galimberti,Emanuele Ferri,Mauro Mucedda,Danilo Russo,Adriano Martinoli,Angelica Crottini,Maurizio Casiraghi,Paolo Agnelli,Martina Spada

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040122

Abstract

BackgroundNowadays, molecular techniques are widespread tools for the identification of biological entities. However, until very few years ago, their application to taxonomy provoked intense debates between traditional and molecular taxonomists. To prevent every kind of disagreement, it is essential to standardize taxonomic definitions. Along these lines, we introduced the concept of Integrated Operational Taxonomic Unit (IOTU). IOTUs come from the concept of Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) and paralleled the Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU). The latter is largely used as a standard in many molecular-based works (even if not always explicitly formalized). However, while MOTUs are assigned solely on molecular variation criteria, IOTUs are identified from patterns of molecular variation that are supported by at least one more taxonomic characteristic.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe tested the use of IOTUs on the widest DNA barcoding dataset of Italian echolocating bats species ever assembled (i.e. 31 species, 209 samples). We identified 31 molecular entities, 26 of which corresponded to the morphologically assigned species, two MOTUs and three IOTUs. Interestingly, we found three IOTUs in Myotis nattereri, one of which is a newly described lineage found only in central and southern Italy. In addition, we found a level of molecular variability within four vespertilionid species deserving further analyses. According to our scheme two of them (i.e. M. bechsteinii and Plecotus auritus) should be ranked as unconfirmed candidate species (UCS).Conclusions/SignificanceFrom a systematic point of view, IOTUs are more informative than the general concept of OTUs and the more recent MOTUs. According to information content, IOTUs are closer to species, although it is important to underline that IOTUs are not species. Overall, the use of a more precise panel of taxonomic entities increases the clarity in the systematic field and has the potential to fill the gaps between modern and traditional taxonomy.

Highlights

Taxonomy is an old discipline that underwent several upgrades in its about 250 years
Because some interspecific divergences were as low as 0%, type II errors [16] occurred when interspecific Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) distance was less than the Optimum Threshold (OT)
The utility of DNA barcoding within molecular taxonomy remains controversial, and the debate is still open concerning the taxonomic value of the identified entities

Summary

Introduction

Taxonomy is an old discipline that underwent several upgrades in its about 250 years. One of the most relevant entities is the Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) [6] that was first defined in a nonmolecular context. Afterwards, [7] introduced the concept of Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU) to define those entities identified in a molecular context. To prevent every kind of disagreement, it is essential to standardize taxonomic definitions Along these lines, we introduced the concept of Integrated Operational Taxonomic Unit (IOTU). IOTUs come from the concept of Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) and paralleled the Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU). The latter is largely used as a standard in many molecular-based works (even if not always explicitly formalized). While MOTUs are assigned solely on molecular variation criteria, IOTUs are identified from patterns of molecular variation that are supported by at least one more taxonomic characteristic

Methods

Results

Conclusion