Karyotypes and COI Gene Sequences of Chironomus sp. Le1 (Kiknadze and Salova, 1996), Ch. laetus (Belyanina and Filinkova, 1996) and Their Hybrid from the Yamal Peninsula, Arctic Zone of Russia

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Chironomids, or non-biting midges, are one of the most abundant insect families. Their larvae are an important component of various aquatic ecosystems. In the Chironomus genus, sibling species are found that are not distinguished by morphology. Due to the presence of giant polytene chromosomes in their salivary gland, it is more convenient to use cytogenetics for species identification. The molecular genetic method also has limitations and depends on the level of intra- and interspecific variability of species. We used morphological, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic approaches to the study of chironomid larvae from two lakes on the Yamal Peninsula. We found a few larvae, which by morphology were very similar to the Chironomus riihimakiensis group. By cytogenetics, we identified the species as Ch. laetus, the first species with arm combinations AE BC DF G and propose the name of a new cytocomplex—“laetus”. We also found a hybrid, Ch. laetus × Ch. sp. Le1, which is the first hybrid between species from different cytocomplexes. Molecular-genetic analysis of COI gene sequences has shown high values of genetic distance between Ch. laetus and species from the Ch. riihimakiensis group. Molecular genetic data suggests the presence of a subgroup with Ch. laetus. ABSTRACT: The study of the biological diversity of the Arctic zone yields intriguing results. Initial research on the lakes of the Yamal Peninsula resulted in the identification of Chironomus laetus and the hybrid Ch. laetus × Ch. sp. Le1. To avoid misidentification, we used morphological, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic approaches. By cytogenetics, in Ch. sp. Le1, seven banding sequences were found: Le1A1, Le1B1, Le1C1, Le1D1, Le1E1, Le1F1, and Le1G1. The karyotype of Ch. laetus was mapped for the first time; it is the first species with the arm combinations AE BC DF G. We propose the name of a new cytocomplex—“laetus”. DNA-barcoding of the COI gene was carried out for Ch. laetus and Ch. laetus × Ch. sp. Le1 for the first time. The estimated genetic distance between the sequences of Ch. laetus and Ch. riihimakiensis is 2.3–2.5%. The high similarity in morphology, banding sequences, and the possibility of hybridization indicate a close relationship between Ch. laetus and Ch. sp. Le1, which is assumed to be the northern variant of Ch. riihimakiensis. Molecular genetic data suggests the presence of a subgroup with Ch. laetus.