Abstract
Historically serving as repositories for morphologically-based taxonomic research, natural history collections are now increasingly being targeted in studies utilizing DNA data. The development of advanced molecular techniques has facilitated extraction of useable DNA from old specimens, including type material. Sequencing diagnostic molecular markers from type material enables accurate species designation, especially where modern taxonomic hypotheses confirm morphologically cryptic species complexes. One such example is Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens), which belongs to a complex of about 20 cryptic species, most of which can only be reliably distinguished by their pre-mating courtship songs or by DNA analysis. The subtle morphological variation in the group has led to disagreement over the previous designation of the lectotype for C. carnea, an issue that has been further compounded because Chrysoperla carnea is a highly valued biological control agent in arable crops. Archival DNA extraction and sequencing from the 180 year old lectotype specimen, combined with Bayesian and Likelihood based phylogenetic analyses of modern specimens from the entire complex, were used to establish unambiguously the true identity of Chrysoperla carnea.
Highlights
Natural history collections are a treasure trove of biological diversity, where millions of individual organisms, collected by generations of taxonomists, reside in perpetuity awaiting further examination as taxon concepts evolve
The results show clearly that Henry et al [20] were correct in assigning the name C. carnea to the taxon they designated as song type Cc4
Fragment 1 amplified from the test specimen included any overlap (278 bp) with the Folmer “barcode region” of Cytochrome oxidase subunit (COI)
Summary
Natural history collections are a treasure trove of biological diversity, where millions of individual organisms, collected by generations of taxonomists, reside in perpetuity awaiting further examination as taxon concepts evolve. In recent times this research has increasingly included the use of molecular data, as improved methods of amplification have resulted in the successful retrieval of short DNA fragments from archival material [e.g., 1, 2–9] stored up to 194 years since collection [10]. The success of archival DNA studies has resulted in the techniques being applied to type specimens, even where the type is the only known specimen [e.g. hummingbird: PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0121127. DNA Successfully Identifies an Old, Controversial Lacewing Museum Type The success of archival DNA studies has resulted in the techniques being applied to type specimens, even where the type is the only known specimen [e.g. hummingbird: PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0121127 April 8, 2015
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