Molecular characterization of Panstrongylus chinai from northern Peru and its phylogenetic relationship to ecuadorian populations using the COI gene.

OBJECTIVE.: To determine the molecular characterization of Panstrongylus chinai from northern Peru and its phylogenetic relationship with Ecuadorian populations using the Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) gene.

MATERIALS AND METHODS.: We analyzed three adult female P. chinai specimens from populations reared under laboratory conditions, from rural localities in the department of Piura. The legs of each specimen were dissected from the coxa to the tibia, discarding the tarsi and nails, then the DNA was extracted, and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the COI gene was carried out. The PCR products were sequenced by Sanger and analyzed with DNA sequences of the COI gene of P. chinai from Ecuador, obtained from the NCBI portal, Genbank. The DNA sequences of the study, together with similar sequences found in the NCBI database, were inserted into the MEGA v.11 software to construct a phylogenetic tree. They were then transferred to the DnaSP v.5 software for molecular characterization by haplotypes.

RESULTS.: Molecular characterization revealed the presence of three haplotypes circulating in the department of Piura, different from the haplotype previously reported in Ecuador. Likewise, phylogenetic analysis suggests the emergence of the evolutionary process of cladogenesis, in which the Ecuadorian variant may have originated from populations of P. chinai from northern Peru.

CONCLUSIONS.: P. chinai from Ecuador and northern Peru have different molecular characteristics and a descending phylogeny, which infer distribution from Peru to Ecuador.