Open AccessPhylogeny of anopheline (Diptera: Culicidae) species in southern Africa, based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes
Author(s) -
Norris Laura C.,
Norris Douglas E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of vector ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.688
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1948-7134
pISSN - 1081-1710
DOI - 10.1111/jvec.12128
Subject(s) - biology , phylogenetics , internal transcribed spacer , nuclear gene , sympatric speciation , evolutionary biology , species complex , zoology , vector (molecular biology) , mitochondrial dna , anopheles , gene , phylogenetic tree , malaria , genetics , immunology , recombinant dna
A phylogeny of anthropophilic and zoophilic anopheline mosquito species was constructed, using the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) genes. The ITS2 alignment, typically difficult due to its noncoding nature and large size variations, was aided by using predicted secondary structure, making this phylogenetically useful gene more amenable to investigation. This phylogeny is unique in explicitly including zoophilic, non‐vector anopheline species in order to illustrate their relationships to malaria vectors. Two new, cryptic species, Anopheles funestus ‐like and Anopheles rivulorum ‐like, were found to be present in Zambia for the first time. Sequences from the D3 region of the 28S rDNA suggest that the Zambian An. funestus ‐like may be a hybrid or geographical variant of An. funestus ‐like, previously reported in Malawi. This is the first report of An. rivulorum ‐like sympatric with An. rivulorum (Leeson), suggesting that these are separate species rather than geographic variants.