초록 열기/닫기 버튼

The Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) is a freshwater benthic invertebrate that is an important indicator organism used for environmental pollution and water quality monitoring. In this study, we performed morphological classification and genetic species identification using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene on mitochondrial DNA for an accurate species classification of Chironomus larvae found in tap water purification plants in Incheon, Korea. Twenty larvae in six water purification plants consist of four species, including twelve Chironomus kiiensis, six Chironomus flaviplumus, one Chironomus dorsalis, and one Polypedilum yongsanensis (not included Genus Chironomus). Morphological characteristics of each larvae were identified based on the head capsule, the mentum, the mandible, the antenna, and the claw. Based on the COI sequences of 21 individuals of 17 Chironomus species registered in NCBI Genbank, phylogenetic analysis indicated that the 20 individuals investigated in this study consist of the same clade with corresponding species of the high homology (99~100%) including C. kiiensis, C. flaviplumus, C. dorsalis, and P. yongsanensis. These results will be used as main classification indicator for monitoring freshwater ecosystems by providing integrated morphological and genetic information for the species identification of Korean Chironomus.