Background & objectives: The black fly genus Simulium Latreille is one of the most important medical insect group of the family Simuliidae (Diptera) and many species of this genus are important pests of human and animals, while some of them also represent vectors of pathogens. Correct species identification is essential to the implementation of control measures for species of medical or agricultural importance.
Methods: In this study, the usefulness of DNA barcoding was discussed in distinguishing species of Simulium.
Results: Analysis showed hidden biodiversity, usually referred to in Simuliidae as cryptic species, which was detected in 15 species. Firstly, intraspecific divergences of eleven species was unexpectedly high and the maximum distances of them ranged from 5.1–16.8%. Based on the differential of K2P (Kimura 2-Parameter) distances, sequences were subdivided into two or three groups, respectively. Secondly, extremely low interspecific divergences were detected in eight groups of species, and shared haplotypes were also found among them. Furthermore, the subdivision within species and shared haplotypes among some species were all supported by the NJ (Neighbour-Joining) analysis.
Interpretation & conclusion: Our results confirmed that DNA barcoding was a powerful tool for revealing hidden species diversity of black flies. Further work is needed to reveal ambiguous species delimitation in some problematic species groups.

中文翻译：

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黑蝇属 Simulium DNA 条形码揭示隐藏的生物多样性

背景与目的：黑蝇属（Simulium Latreille）是拟蝇科（双翅目）最重要的药用昆虫类群之一，该属的许多种是人类和动物的重要害虫，其中一些也是病原体的载体。正确的物种识别对于对具有医学或农业重要性的物种实施控制措施至关重要。
方法：在这项研究中，讨论了 DNA 条码在区分Simulium物种方面的用途。
结果：分析显示隐藏的生物多样性，通常在 Simuliidae 中被称为隐性物种，在 15 个物种中被检测到。首先，11个物种的种内差异出乎意料地高，它们的最大距离在5.1-16.8%之间。根据K2P（Kimura 2-Parameter）距离的差异，将序列分别细分为两组或三组。其次，在八组物种中检测到极低的种间差异，并且在它们之间也发现了共享的单倍型。此外，NJ（Neighbour-Joining）分析支持物种内的细分和某些物种之间的共享单倍型。
解读与结论：我们的结果证实，DNA 条形码是揭示黑蝇隐藏物种多样性的有力工具。需要进一步的工作来揭示一些有问题的物种群中模糊的物种界限。