Hidden in our pockets: building of a DNA barcode library unveils the first record of Myotis alcathoe for Portugal

Hugo Rebelo; Sónia Ferreira; Francisco Amorim; Pedro Horta; Helena Raposeira; Helena Santos; Pedro Beja; Vanessa A Mata

doi:10.3897/BDJ.8.e54479

Hidden in our pockets: building of a DNA barcode library unveils the first record of Myotis alcathoe for Portugal

Biodivers Data J. 2020 Jul 28:8:e54479. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.8.e54479. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Hugo Rebelo^{1

2}, Sónia Ferreira¹, Francisco Amorim¹, Pedro Horta^{3

1}, Helena Raposeira^{3

1}, Helena Santos¹, Pedro Beja^{1

2}, Vanessa A Mata¹

Affiliations

¹ CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal.
² CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Lisboa, Portugal CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia Lisboa Portugal.
³ Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal.

Abstract

Background: The advent and boom of DNA barcoding technologies have provided a powerful tool for the fields of ecology and systematics. Here, we present the InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: Portuguese Bats (Chiroptera) dataset containing DNA sequences of 63 specimens representing the 25 bat species currently known for continental Portugal. For that, we sequenced tissues samples obtained in a vast array of projects spanning the last two decades.

New information: We added four new Barcoding Index Numbers (BINs) to existing Chiroptera barcodes on BOLD, two belonging to Myotis escalerai, one to Plecotus auritus and the other to Rhinolophus hipposideros. Surprisingly, one of the samples initially identified in the field as Myotis mystacinus turned out to be Myotis alcathoe, which represents the first record of this species for Portugal. The presence of Nyctalus noctula in Portugal was also genetically confirmed for the first time. This case study shows the power and value of DNA barcoding initiatives to unravel new data that may be hidden on biological collections.

Keywords: COI; DNA barcoding; Myotis alcathoe; bats; museum collections; species identification.

Hugo Rebelo, Sónia Ferreira, Francisco Amorim, Pedro Horta, Helena Raposeira, Helena Santos, Pedro Beja, Vanessa A. Mata.

Grants and funding

Funding: The FCT - Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P. funded V.M. (PD/BD/113462/2015) and F.A. (PD/BD/52606/2014). S.F. was funded by the project PORBIOTA - Portuguese E-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022127), supported by Operational Thematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). This research also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 668981.Fieldwork and sample collection were funded under the scope of the FCT projects PTDC/BIA-BIC/110587/2009, LTER/BIA-BEC/0004/2009 and PTDC/BIA-ECO/31731/2017, and from EDP – Energias de Portugal.