Genetic diversity in two sibling species of the Anopheles punctulatus group of mosquitoes on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The mosquito Anopheles irenicus, a member of the Anopheles punctulatus group, is geographically restricted to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. It shows remarkable morphological similarities to one of its sibling species, An. farauti sensu stricto (An. farauti s.s.), but is dissimilar in host and habitat preferences. To infer the genetic variations between these two species, we have analyzed mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences from Guadalcanal and from one of its nearest neighbours, Malaita, in the Solomon Islands.

Results

An. farauti s.s. was collected mostly from brackish water and by the human bait method on both islands, whereas An. irenicus was only collected from fresh wate

SUBMITTER: Hasan AU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2612007 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature