DNA barcoding of Chinese weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)

DNA barcoding relies on a short, standardized DNA fragment for rapid and accurate species identification. However, DNA barcoding research on Chinese weevils remains relatively underdeveloped. The lack of a systematic and comprehensive barcode database, in particular, has limited in-depth taxonomic studies in this group. This study aims to establish a foundational data resource for DNA barcoding of Chinese weevils.

By integrating publicly available sequences (409 sequences) with newly generated DNA barcode data (1459 sequences), we preliminarily constructed a DNA barcode reference dataset for Chinese Curculionoidea.

The dataset included 1868 COI sequences representing 571 species-approximately one-seventh of the known species diversity in China-covering five families within the Curculionoidea. As expected, the family Curculionidae constituted the majority of the dataset, with 483 species and 1691 sequences, reflecting its taxonomic dominance. Geographically, the data were sourced from 15 provincial-level regions across China, with over 80% of the species collected from Xizang, Yunnan, and Sichuan. This distribution highlighted both the intensive sampling efforts and the potentially high biodiversity of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau region. In terms of sequence identification, our data yielded successful species-or genus-level identification for 51.8% of the sequences. Notably, the proportion of sequences identified to species level was significantly higher for our newly generated data (24.6%) than for public-database sequences (10.5%).

This study provides the first multi-family, multi-region DNA barcode reference dataset for Chinese Curculionoidea, filling a critical gap in the taxonomic reference infrastructure. The dataset offers a valuable resource for future species identification, biodiversity monitoring, and phylogenetic research on this ecologically and economically important group.