Testing DNA barcode performance in 1000 species of European lepidoptera: large geographic distances have small genetic impacts

This study examines the performance of DNA barcodes (mt cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene) in the identification of 1004 species of Lepidoptera shared by two localities (Finland, Austria) that are 1600 km apart. Maximum intraspecific distances for the pooled data were less than 2% for 880 species (87.6%),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-12, Vol.9 (12), p.e115774-e115774
Main Authors: Huemer, Peter, Mutanen, Marko, Sefc, Kristina M, Hebert, Paul D N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bar codes
Biodiversity
Biology and Life Sciences
Cluster Analysis
Cytochrome
Cytochrome oxidase
Cytochrome-c oxidase
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Diagnostic systems
Dispersal
Distribution patterns
Divergence
DNA
DNA barcoding
DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic - methods
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Gene sequencing
Geography
Hybridization
Identification
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera - classification
Migration
Museums
Nucleotide sequence
Number systems
Species
Studies
Success
Taxa
Taxonomy
Wolbachia
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Summary:This study examines the performance of DNA barcodes (mt cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene) in the identification of 1004 species of Lepidoptera shared by two localities (Finland, Austria) that are 1600 km apart. Maximum intraspecific distances for the pooled data were less than 2% for 880 species (87.6%), while deeper divergence was detected in 124 species. Despite such variation, the overall DNA barcode library possessed diagnostic COI sequences for 98.8% of the taxa. Because a reference library based on Finnish specimens was highly effective in identifying specimens from Austria, we conclude that barcode libraries based on regional sampling can often be effective for a much larger area. Moreover, dispersal ability (poor, good) and distribution patterns (disjunct, fragmented, continuous, migratory) had little impact on levels of intraspecific geographic divergence. Furthermore, the present study revealed that, despite the intensity of past taxonomic work on European Lepidoptera, nearly 20% of the species shared by Austria and Finland require further work to clarify their status. Particularly discordant BIN (Barcode Index Number) cases should be checked to ascertain possible explanatory factors such as incorrect taxonomy, hybridization, introgression, and Wolbachia infections.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0115774