Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun;40(1):16-27.
doi: 10.1111/jvec.12128.

Phylogeny of anopheline (Diptera: Culicidae) species in southern Africa, based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes

Laura C Norris  1 , Douglas E Norris  2
Affiliations

Phylogeny of anopheline (Diptera: Culicidae) species in southern Africa, based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes

Laura C Norris et al. J Vector Ecol. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Anopheles; COI; ITS2; Zambia; phylogeny.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cytochrome oxidase sub unit I (COI) Neighbor-Joining tree, branch length = 0.75231908.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) Maximum Parsimony tree, one of 12 most parsimonious trees that differed in the arrangement of the Funestus Group clade.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) Neighbor-Joining tree, branch length = 5.06003986.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) Maximum Parsimony tree, one of three most parsimonious trees that difered in the arrangement of the An. gambiae clade.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Variable section of Domain 3 of 28S for Malawi An. funestus-like, Zambian An. funestus-like, and An. funestus s.s.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anthony TG, Harbach RE, Kitching IJ. Phylogeny of the Pyretophorus Series of Anopheles subgenus Cellia (Diptera: Culicidae) Syst. Entomol. 1999;24:193–205.
    1. Antonio-Nkondjio C, Kerah CH, Simard F, Awono-Ambene P, Chouaibou M, Tchuinkam T, Fontenille D. Complexity of the malaria vectorial system in Cameroon: contribution of secondary vectors to malaria transmission. J. Med. Entomol. 2006;43:1215–1221. - PubMed
    1. Barber MA, Rice JB. A survey of malaria in Egypt. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1937;17:413–436.
    1. Beier JC. Vector incrimination and entomological inoculation rates. Meth. Mol. Med. 2002;72:3–11. - PubMed
    1. Besansky NJ, Powell JR, Caccone A, Hamm DM, Scott JA, Collins EH. Molecular phylogeny of the Anopheles gambiae complex suggests genetic introgression between principal malaria vectors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1994;91:6885–6888. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources