DNA barcoding for species delimitation of the freshwater leech genus Glossiphonia from the Western Balkan (Hirudinea, Glossiphoniidae).

ABSTRACT: Glossiphoniid leeches are a diverse group and sometimes abundant elements of the aquatic fauna inhabiting various types of freshwater habitats. In this study, we sampled leeches of the genus Glossiphonia from the Western Balkan in order to test the suitability of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker sequence for species delimitation. Morphological analysis revealed the presence of four taxa, G.complanata with two subspecies, G.c.complanata and G.c.maculosa, the latter an endemic of Ohrid Lake, G.nebulosa and endemic G.balcanica. In total, 29 new barcodes of Glossiphonia were sequenced in the course of this study and compared with the available molecular dataset of the latter genus from GenBank/BOLD databases. The app

SUBMITTER: Jovanovic M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8458266 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature