New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India
Mites of the genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) are permanent and highly specialised ectoparasites of geckos (Gekkota). We conducted a local study on <i>Geckobia</i> mites associated with the geckos of the family Gekkonidae found mainly in the territory of...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| author | Monika Fajfer Praveen Karanth |
| author_facet | Monika Fajfer Praveen Karanth |
| author_sort | Monika Fajfer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mites of the genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) are permanent and highly specialised ectoparasites of geckos (Gekkota). We conducted a local study on <i>Geckobia</i> mites associated with the geckos of the family Gekkonidae found mainly in the territory of the Indian Institute of Science’s campus (Bangalore, India). In total, we examined 208 lizards belonging to two genera: <i>Hemidactylus</i> and <i>Cnemaspis</i>. We assessed the prevalence of the mites and identified the preferred site for their infestation. We extended the standard morphological identification of the mite species by using DNA barcode markers, partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (<i>COI</i>) gene and nuclear ribosomal gene sequences: 18S rRNA and hypervariable region D2 of nuclear 28S rRNA. We checked the suitability of <i>COI</i> and nuclear (D2 of 28S rRNA) markers for species delimitations and identification purposes of the genus. The distance- and phylogeny-based approaches were applied: (i) to test the presence of a barcoding gap, we used the automated barcoding gap discovery tool (ABGD) and investigated intra- and interspecific genetic distances, and (ii) to reconstruct evolutionary relationships within the species, we performed maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference with Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (BI) analyses. As a result, we described five new species—<i>Geckobia gigantea</i> sp. n., <i>G. treutleri</i> sp. n., <i>G. unica</i> sp. n. and <i>G. brevicephala</i> sp. n.—from four <i>Hemidactylus</i> species: <i>H. giganteus</i>, <i>H. treutleri</i>, <i>H. parvimaculatus</i> and <i>H. frenatus</i>, respectively, and <i>G. mysoriensis</i> sp. n. from <i>Cnemaspis mysoriensis</i>. Additionally, we found three already described species: <i>Geckobia indica</i> Hirst, 1917 on <i>H. treutleri</i> (new host), <i>Geckobia bataviensis</i> Vitzhum, 1926 on <i>H. parvimaculatus</i> (new host) and <i>H. frenatus</i> (new locality) and <i>Geckobia phillipinensis</i> Lawrence, 1953 on <i>H. frenatus</i> (new locality). The diagnoses of <i>G. indica</i> and <i>G. phillipinensis</i> were improved and supplemented by descriptions of the males and juveniles. Both topologies of the BI and ML phylogenetic trees, as well as genetic distances, supported the species boundaries in the mite population shown by the morphological data. <i>Hemidactylus frenatus</i> was the most infected gecko species (61% prevalence), with the highest number of mite species (three spp.). The scale-mite richness was higher than expected; therefore, further research is required to evaluate the true diversity of <i>Geckobia</i> mites. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-db1d44416aff47c7be78c4251bd6fefc2023-11-24T14:22:58ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-12-011412106410.3390/d14121064New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in IndiaMonika Fajfer0Praveen Karanth1Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938 Warsaw, PolandCentre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, IndiaMites of the genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) are permanent and highly specialised ectoparasites of geckos (Gekkota). We conducted a local study on <i>Geckobia</i> mites associated with the geckos of the family Gekkonidae found mainly in the territory of the Indian Institute of Science’s campus (Bangalore, India). In total, we examined 208 lizards belonging to two genera: <i>Hemidactylus</i> and <i>Cnemaspis</i>. We assessed the prevalence of the mites and identified the preferred site for their infestation. We extended the standard morphological identification of the mite species by using DNA barcode markers, partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (<i>COI</i>) gene and nuclear ribosomal gene sequences: 18S rRNA and hypervariable region D2 of nuclear 28S rRNA. We checked the suitability of <i>COI</i> and nuclear (D2 of 28S rRNA) markers for species delimitations and identification purposes of the genus. The distance- and phylogeny-based approaches were applied: (i) to test the presence of a barcoding gap, we used the automated barcoding gap discovery tool (ABGD) and investigated intra- and interspecific genetic distances, and (ii) to reconstruct evolutionary relationships within the species, we performed maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference with Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (BI) analyses. As a result, we described five new species—<i>Geckobia gigantea</i> sp. n., <i>G. treutleri</i> sp. n., <i>G. unica</i> sp. n. and <i>G. brevicephala</i> sp. n.—from four <i>Hemidactylus</i> species: <i>H. giganteus</i>, <i>H. treutleri</i>, <i>H. parvimaculatus</i> and <i>H. frenatus</i>, respectively, and <i>G. mysoriensis</i> sp. n. from <i>Cnemaspis mysoriensis</i>. Additionally, we found three already described species: <i>Geckobia indica</i> Hirst, 1917 on <i>H. treutleri</i> (new host), <i>Geckobia bataviensis</i> Vitzhum, 1926 on <i>H. parvimaculatus</i> (new host) and <i>H. frenatus</i> (new locality) and <i>Geckobia phillipinensis</i> Lawrence, 1953 on <i>H. frenatus</i> (new locality). The diagnoses of <i>G. indica</i> and <i>G. phillipinensis</i> were improved and supplemented by descriptions of the males and juveniles. Both topologies of the BI and ML phylogenetic trees, as well as genetic distances, supported the species boundaries in the mite population shown by the morphological data. <i>Hemidactylus frenatus</i> was the most infected gecko species (61% prevalence), with the highest number of mite species (three spp.). The scale-mite richness was higher than expected; therefore, further research is required to evaluate the true diversity of <i>Geckobia</i> mites.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/12/1064Acaribiodiversityscale mites<i>Hemidactylus</i>species delimitationbarcoding |
| spellingShingle | Monika Fajfer Praveen Karanth New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India Diversity Acari biodiversity scale mites <i>Hemidactylus</i> species delimitation barcoding |
| title | New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India |
| title_full | New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India |
| title_fullStr | New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India |
| title_short | New Morphological and Molecular Data Reveal an Underestimation of Species Diversity of Mites of the Genus <i>Geckobia</i> (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) in India |
| title_sort | new morphological and molecular data reveal an underestimation of species diversity of mites of the genus i geckobia i acariformes pterygosomatidae in india |
| topic | Acari biodiversity scale mites <i>Hemidactylus</i> species delimitation barcoding |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/12/1064 |
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