dna barcode reveals cryptic bumblebee specie in northeastern of

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DNA BARCODE REVEALS CRYPTIC
BUMBLEBEE SPECIE IN
NORTHEASTERN OF BRAZIL
Autores: Elaine Françoso, Maria Cristina Arias.
Instituição: Instituto de Biociências – USP.
Contato: Rua do matão 277, sala 320, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, Brasil.
Email: [email protected]
There are about 250 Bombus species in the world, most occurring in cold climate zones in
Eurasia and North America. In Brazil, there are only six recognized species: B. morio, B. pauloensis,
B. brasiliensis B. bellicosus, B. transversalis and B. brevivillus, presenting large geographic distribution. They all belong to the subgenus Fervidobombus. Association between behavior and climate is
hypothesized as a plausibly explanation to the low number of species. In a tropical climate, the dispersion may be more frequent promoting gene flow through large areas. However, taxonomic problems
are clearly present, and may have been neglected due to limitations in the species identification based
on morphological characters and the low number of taxonomists working with this group. Thus a
new tool to recognize taxa, in general, is necessary. The Cytocrome C Oxidase I (COI) gene shows
high level of phylogenetic signals than any other mitochondrial gene and has been utilized in a new
methodology, called DNA barcode, as a novel system of identification very useful to distinguish close
related species. COI sequences (650 bp) were obtained for 13 bumblebees collected in Northeastern
of Brazil (identified as Bombus sp. nov.) and for the others Brazilian species. A phylogenetic tree was
reconstructed by Neighbor Joining analysis based on K2P distances. The 13 bumblebees collected in
Northeastern of Brazil are monophyletics, being B. brevivillus the sister clade. This result indicates
that this monophyletic group should consist in a new species. Considering the large occurrence area
of the Brazilian bumblebees and the few researches made, it is possible that others species constitute
a complex of species and, in future researches, new species should be described.
Apoio: Fapesp.
Área: Sistemática e biogeografia de abelhas
Palavra chave: cryptic bumblebee specie - DNA barcode - Brazil - Bombus - Cytocrome C
Oxidase I gene.
Anais do X Encontro sobre Abelhas, 2012
Ribeirão Preto – SP – Brasil