Phylogenetic analyses on the mite Allopsoroptoides galli (Acari: Astigmata) using the molecular markers 18S and 28S rRNA

Duarte, Fernanda CalvoBuim, Marcos RobertoFiorini, Leonardo CostaHarakava, RicardoRomano, Deborah Mirela de MeloMendes, Márcia Cristina

ABSTRACT The mite Allopsoroptoides galli has been described as a psoroptoidid belonging to the subfamily Psoroptidae. This feather mite was first found in the year 2010, parasitizing hens on an egg farm in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. A phylogenetic investigation on the first DNA sequences of the mite A. galli was conducted. Through the polymerase chain reaction technique, fragments of the 18S and 28S rRNA region were amplified and then sequenced using the Sanger method. The sequences obtained were deposited in GenBank (OK533677 and OK533676). The identity of the amplified DNA fragments was established by entering the sequences obtained into the BLAST software. Listed sequences from GenBank, from both the 18S and the 28S region, were retrieved and aligned to subsequently set up phylogenetic trees, by means of the neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. For both sequences obtained experimentally, the search in the GenBank DNA database yielded high similarity only with sequences of the pyroglyphid mite Dermatophagoides farinae. All the phylogenetic trees obtained for 18S rRNA sequences and 28S rRNA sequences presented a high degree of discordance with the current taxonomy.

1. Feather mites
2. Guira guira
3. Psoroptidae