A DNA barcode survey of insect biodiversity in Pakistan

PeerJ. 2022 Apr 25:10:e13267. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13267. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Although Pakistan has rich biodiversity, many groups are poorly known, particularly insects. To address this gap, we employed DNA barcoding to survey its insect diversity. Specimens obtained through diverse collecting methods at 1,858 sites across Pakistan from 2010-2019 were examined for sequence variation in the 658 bp barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) gene. Sequences from nearly 49,000 specimens were assigned to 6,590 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), a proxy for species, and most (88%) also possessed a representative image on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). By coupling morphological inspections with barcode matches on BOLD, every BIN was assigned to an order (19) and most (99.8%) were placed to a family (362). However, just 40% of the BINs were assigned to a genus (1,375) and 21% to a species (1,364). Five orders (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera) accounted for 92% of the specimens and BINs. More than half of the BINs (59%) are so far only known from Pakistan, but others have also been reported from Bangladesh (13%), India (12%), and China (8%). Representing the first DNA barcode survey of the insect fauna in any South Asian country, this study provides the foundation for a complete inventory of the insect fauna in Pakistan while also contributing to the global DNA barcode reference library.

Keywords: BOLD; Barcode index number; Biodiversity overlap; Cytochrome c oxidase I; DNA barcoding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biodiversity*
  • DNA
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic* / methods
  • Insecta* / genetics
  • Pakistan

Substances

  • DNA

Grants and funding

This study was enabled by grant 106106-001 “Engaging Developing Nations in iBOL” from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada and by grant HEC No. 20-1403/R& D/09 “Sequencing DNA Barcodes of Economically Important Insect Species from Pakistan” from the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Sequence analysis was made possible by a grant from the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and Ontario Genomics in support of the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) project. This is a contribution to the ‘Food from Thought’ project supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Paul Hebert and Nazeer Ahmed were supported by the New Frontiers in Research Fund through its award to BIOSCAN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.