DNA barcoding of Stearibia nigriceps (Meigen) and Piophila casei (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Piophilidae) from Algeria and the first African report of Stearibia nigriceps.

Stearibia (=Piophila) nigriceps (Meigen) occurs in the Palearctic Region from Europe and Far East Russia, and in the Nearctic, the Neotropical, and the Oriental regions. In this study, we report the first record of Stearibia nigriceps from Africa collected in Algeria. In addition, our results provide DNA sequences of Piophila casei (Linnaeus) and S. nigriceps that may serve as reference data for future identification. A region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene marker of 473 bp was amplified and DNA was sequenced. Intra- and interspecific genetic distances were calculated. A phylogenetic tree was generated by the maximum likelihood (ML) method using 1000 bootstrap replicates based on the Tamura-Nei model. A total number of 9 adults of S. nigriceps were collected together with 72 adults of P. casei. The intraspecific variation of the species barcodes analysed in our study was < 3% and the interspecific nucleotide divergence of the same species was > 3%. The 473 bp COI region was sufficient to identify and distinguish unambiguously between the two species. P. casei and P. nigriceps individuals from Algeria clustered separately from each other. They were also separated from the individuals of the same species originating from other countries with a 100% high bootstrap value. There was no correlation between the clades and the geographic origins of the haplotypes. Our results contribute to update the knowledge of the distribution of Piophilidae family. They also contribute to the build-up of online DNA sequence databases.