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Croatian mosquito fauna Barcoding

Determination of mosquitoes, together with geographic distribution, are key steps in developing vector control strategies. The mosquito identification mainly relies on morphological identification of specimens using dichotomous keys. The biggest disadvantage of this type of identification is that mosquito scales can be easily rubbed off or are often damaged when they are collected or carelessly stored. It can also be problematic when distinguishing morphologically similar species. DNA barcoding is a worldwide method of biodiversity recognition and the world‟s base is continually being supplemented. Mitochondrial genes have become the primary molecular tool for analyzing genetic diversity in mosquitoes. Currently, the most commonly used barcode region is a 50-segment of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI). DNA based identification makes it possible to use sequence data in order to determine the species and their sub-species. Fifty-three species of mosquitoes have been recorded in Croatia so far. Determining the genetic status of this insect group will be of great taxonomic, phylogenetic and phylogeographic importance since Croatia stands out for its diversity of habitats that affect genetic diversity. During the project “DNA Barcoding of the Croatian Fauna” mosquitoes were sampled from the continental, alpine and Mediterranean regions of Croatia in mosquito seasons in 2017. and 2018. Within the sampled mosquitoes twenty- three species have been determined and molecularly identified, including two invasive mosquito species Aedes japonicus in the continental and alpine regions and Aedes albopictus in the continental and Mediterranean region of Croatia. We expect that by the end of this project we will have barcoded as much as possible of the known species in Croatia, established their systematic membership and complemented the world base (BOLD and GenBank).

mosquitoes, species, DNA barcoding, vectors, mosquito identification

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