Morphological and Genetic Relation in Hybrids of Triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) of the Phyllosoma Complex from Mexico

Abstract

Abstract Triatoma longipennis Usinger 1939, Triatoma pallidipennis (Stal, 1872), and Triatoma picturata Usinger 1939 are considered among the species with the highest transmission capacity of Chagas disease in Mexico, with an impact on health mainly in rural zones and places with worn-out dwellings. There have been previous studies on the phylogenetic relationship of these species of the Phyllosoma complex using molecular approaches, in addition to analyzing morphological characters. However, one of the problems in the field is the presence of hybrids that due to the short genetic distance between species, and such organisms have not yet been identified and could be confused with parental organisms. In this work, we analyzed genotypical and phenotypic characters, between the species and the three possible hybrids resulting from the cross between the species. In the analysis of wings morphology, we found that the dominant phenotype in hybrids was that of T. pallidipennis, having a higher dominance than T. longipennis. Besides, the use of the COI marker amplified in DNA of parentals and the three possible hybrids showed by neighbor-joining phylograms a greater association of the hybrids with T. longipennis, in agreement with the analysis of genetic distances and polymorphic sites. Thus, the morphological data demonstrate the high dominance of T. pallidipennis and the molecular data of T. longipennis in its hybrids, in such a way that it is possible to differentiate hybrids from parental species.