Population structure of the primary malaria vector in South America, Anopheles darlingi, using isozyme, random amplified polymorphic DNA, internal transcribed spacer 2, and morphologic markers

Sylvie Manguin*, Richard C. Wilkerson, Jan E. Conn, Yasmin Rubio-Palis, James A. Danoff-Burg, Donald R. Roberts

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

A genetic and morphologic survey of Anopheles darlingi populations collected from seven countries in Central and South America was performed to clarify the taxonomic status of this major malaria vector species in the Americas. Population genetics was based on three techniques including isozyme, random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD- PCR), and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) markers. The results of the isozyme analysis indicated moderate differences in the allele frequencies of three putative loci (glutamate oxalaoacetate transaminase-1, isocitrate dehydrogenase-1, and phosphoglucomutase) of the 31 analyzed. No fixed electromorphic differences separated the populations of An. darlingi, which showed little genetic divergence (Nei distances = 0.976-0.995). Fragments produced by RAPD-PCR demonstrated evidence of geographic partitioning and showed that all populations were separated by small genetic distances as measured with the 1 - S distance matrix. The ITS2 sequences for all samples were identical except for four individuals from Belize that differed by a three-base deletion (CCC). The morphologic study demonstrated that the Euclidean distances ranged from 0.02 to 0.14, with the highest value observed between populations from Belize and Bolivia. Based on these analyses, all the An. darlingi populations examined demonstrated a genetic similarity that is consistent with the existence of a single species and suggest that gene flow is occurring throughout the species' geographic range.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)364-376
Number of pages13
JournalAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume60
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1999
Externally publishedYes

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