Assessing Efficiency of the Mitochondrial 12S Marker Fragment for the Use in Reconstruction of the Phylogeny of Acanthobdellids

Abstract

For many years, methods based on the molecular analysis of conservative genome segments have been used to solve controversial issues of phylogeny by calculating the divergence of organisms. In the present study, a marker fragment of the 12S rRNA gene was used to clarify the phylogenetic position of a poorly studied faunistic group, ancient leech-like parasites of the genus Acanthobdella. The mosaic combination of oligochaete (Oligochaeta) and modern leech (Hirudinea) traits points to the intermediate evolutionary position of acanthobdells. Our results suggest that the 12S marker fragment is efficient for phylogenetic analysis at the genus and species levels. The phylogenetic history of acanthobdellids reconstructed in the present study is not consistent with the results of earlier studies. Low statistical support suggests that the 12S marker is not efficient for phylogenetic analysis at the supergenus level.