Molecular characterisation of leeches (Clitellata, Annelida) based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene region for Turkish fauna

ABSTRACT

Leeches, classified under Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida, hold a crucial position within the aquatic ecosystem due to their substantial contribution to the intricate food web. As a result of some morphological and phylogenetic uncertainties in the classification, molecular studies have been implemented in leech taxonomy. We investigated the leech fauna in 14 wetlands in the province of Ankara in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey between 2017 and 2019. A total of 38 specimens were collected from wetlands, representing two families, four genera, and five species (Glossiphonia complanata, Glossiphonia concolor, Helobdella stagnalis, Hirudo verbana, Limnatis paluda). Morphological characters were identified following examination under a stereomicroscope, and maximum likelihood (ML), neighbour-joining (NJ) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses were employed to resolve the phylogenetic relationships using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). The haplotype analysis of the obtained COI region on 15 sequences revealed 11 haplotypes.

KEYWORDS:

• biodiversity

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordinatorship of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University (Project Number: 3962). Also, we thank Amir Maqbool for proofreading the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Compliance with ethical standards

Ethical approval is not required for this research since the leech species used in our study are invertebrates.

Contribution of authors

HA, NS and SM designed this study. HA and NS collected specimen field records from the Ankara province. HA, NS and AÇ conducted the DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing. NS prepared the phylogeny and haplotype analysis. HA and NS wrote the manuscript. All authors provided substantial input to the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data of the DNA sequences obtained in this study have been uploaded to GenBank and are publicly available. GenBank access numbers for DNA sequences of our data are included in Table 1. Leech samples are kept in series in our laboratories.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi [Project Number: 3962].