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25 August 2020 Molecular Differentiation of Four Species of Oropsylla (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) Using PCR-Based Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analyses and DNA Sequencing
Jessica T. Thoroughgood, James S. Armstrong, Brandon White, Clare A. Anstead, Terry D. Galloway, L. Robbin Lindsay, Todd K. Shury, Jeffery E. Lane, Neil B. Chilton
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Abstract

It is often difficult to distinguish morphologically between closely related species of fleas (Siphonaptera). Morphological identification of fleas often requires microscopic examination of internal structures in specimens cleared using caustic solutions. This process degrades DNA and/or inhibits DNA extraction from specimens, which limits molecular-based studies on individual fleas and their microbiomes. Our objective was to distinguish between Oropsylla rupestris (Jordan), Oropsylla tuberculata (Baker), Oropsylla bruneri (Baker), and Oropsylla labis (Jordan & Rothschild) (Ceratophyllidae) using PCR-based single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses and DNA sequencing. A 446 bp region of the nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was used as the genetic marker. The results obtained for 36 reference specimens (i.e., fleas that were morphologically identified to species) revealed no intraspecific variation in DNA sequence, whereas the DNA sequences of the four species of Oropsylla differed from one another at two to six nucleotide positions. Each flea species also had a unique SSCP banding pattern. SSCP analyses were then used to identify another 84 fleas that had not been identified morphologically. DNA sequencing data confirmed the species identity of fleas subjected to SSCP. This demonstrates that PCR-SSCP combined with DNA sequencing of the 28S rRNA gene is a very effective approach for the delineation of four closely related species of flea.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Jessica T. Thoroughgood, James S. Armstrong, Brandon White, Clare A. Anstead, Terry D. Galloway, L. Robbin Lindsay, Todd K. Shury, Jeffery E. Lane, and Neil B. Chilton "Molecular Differentiation of Four Species of Oropsylla (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) Using PCR-Based Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analyses and DNA Sequencing," Journal of Medical Entomology 58(1), 241-245, (25 August 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa161
Received: 21 May 2020; Accepted: 3 July 2020; Published: 25 August 2020
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KEYWORDS
28S rRNA gene
DNA sequencing
fleas
Oropsylla
PCR-SSCP
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