Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 10 4 2016 10 24 454 461 EN Sahar Bazrafkan Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hassan Vatandoost Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abbas Heydari Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hassan Bakhshi Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Somayeh Panahi-Moghadam Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Saedeh Hashemi-Aghdam Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Mohtarami Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abbas Rahimiforoushan Esfahan University of Medical Sciences, Esfahan, Iran Sinan Anlaş Celal Bayar University Alaşehir, Vocational School, Department of Entomology, Alaşehir, Manisa, Turkey Mansoreh Shayeghi Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Ali Oshaghi Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Seyed Mohammad Abtahi Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2015 11 16 2015 11 16 Background: Linear dermatitis is endemic in Iran where most cases occur in the Caspian Sea coast and Fars prov­ince. The disease is caused by beetles of the genus Paederus which are active from early spring to beginning of au­tumn although its incidence rises from May to August. The classic taxonomy of Paederus spp. is based on the male genitalia that is very complex and needs expertise. In this study, we report a DNA-based method to discriminate Paederus fuscipes and Paederus littoralis (=syn: P. lenkoranus, P. ilsae). Methods: Type specimens were collected from north and south of Iran. Molecular typing of the species was per­formed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-am­plified fragments of mtDNA-COI. Results: Sequence analyses of the data obtained in this study showed significant DNA polymorphisms. There were 89 substitutions between COI sequences of the two species. The mtDNA-COI fragment comprises several useful species-specific restriction sites comprising HaeIII that could result in distinctively different species-specific PCR–RFLP profiles. The HaeIII enzyme cuts the 872 bp PCR amplicon of P. littoralis into 737 and 100 bp and two small nonvisible bands whereas it does not cut P. fuscipes amplicon into fragments. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that molecular typing is useful method and allows one to differentiate between two species and is recommended for discrimination of other Paederus species, which morphologically are indistin­guishable or very difficult to be distinguished. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/325 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/325/284