Amplification and sequencing of rRNA mitochondrial DNA in leaf cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Medellín

Abstract

The leaf-cutting ants are important agricultural pests in Colombia and other countries. Although several have been used for the control of these insects, it remains unknowledge of some basic aspects regarding their relationship with the mutualist fungus and the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships between them. The mitochondrial DNA appears as an important tool in studies of molecular entomology for the taxonomy and also for the establishment of evolutive relations in both insects and mutualist fungus. In the present study, we amplified and sequenced a fragment of 405 bp from the mitochondrial ribosomal large subunit in leaf-cutting ants from Medellín. The identity of the sequences was verified comparing them with sequences for this region previously publicated for insects belonging to the order Díptera. There were determined high contents of adenine and timina (80%) a common characteristic in mitochondrial DNA of insects and similarity of 48.5% and 50.3% was found in sequences from ants when compared withAnopheles gambiae and Lutzomyia longipalpis respectively.