Molecular Characterization of Myiasis-Causing Moth Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae)

The aim of this study is to examine the molecular characterization of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) based on their mitochondrial DNA sequences and determine the vectorial potential and damage caused by moth flies in future researches.

A total of 240 adult moth flies were collected from toilet, bathroom, and basement walls of houses from different locations of the Kayseri region between May 2016 and April 2017. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses were performed using primer pairs, specificaly targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (mt-COI) gene of adult flies.

In total, five isolates were gel purified and sequenced for molecular characterization and phylogenetic analyses. Two species, namely Telmatoscopus albipunctatus (ERU-Telmatos3 and ERU-Telmatos6) and Psychodidae sp. (ERU-Psycho1,4,5), were successfully identified with the sequence alignment of isolates. According to the phylogenetic analysis, it was determined that the ERU-Telmatos3 and ERU-Telmatos6 isolates are clustered in the haplogroup A, while the ERU-Psycho1,4,5 isolate was clustered within the haplogroup B. The ERU-Psycho1 isolate was characterized as a new haplotype within the haplogroup B.

This study represents the first molecular characterization and phylogenetic status of moth flies in Turkey. The obtained findings should be the first step in the future investigation based on detecting the transmission of bacterial pathogens by moth flies.