Semipermeable species boundaries between Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis: evidence from multilocus DNA sequence variation.

ABSTRACT: Attempts to reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the Anopheles gambiae cryptic species complex have yielded strongly conflicting results. In particular, An. gambiae, the primary African malaria vector, is variously placed as a sister taxon to either Anopheles arabiensis or Anopheles merus. The recent divergence times for members of this complex complicate phylogenetic analysis, making it difficult to unambiguously implicate interspecific gene flow, versus retained ancestral polymorphism, as the source of conflict. Using sequences at four unlinked loci, which were determined from multiple specimens within each of five species in the complex, we found contrasting patterns of sequence divergence between the X chromosome and the autosomes. The isolation model of speciation assumes a lack of

SUBMITTER: Besansky NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC196886 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature