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
. 2024 Mar 27;23(1):88.
doi: 10.1186/s12936-024-04888-0.

A systematic review: is Anopheles vagus a species complex?

Dalilah Dalilah  1   2 , Din Syafruddin  3   4 , Irsan Saleh  5 , Ahmad Ghiffari  6 , Leo Vernadesly  7 , Lepa Syahrani  8   9 , Irdayanti Irdayanti  4 , Chairil Anwar  10
Affiliations

A systematic review: is Anopheles vagus a species complex?

Dalilah Dalilah et al. Malar J. .

Abstract

Background: Anopheles vagus (subgenus Cellia) has been identified as a vector for malaria, filariasis, and Japanese encephalitis in Asia. Sporozoites of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have been found in this zoophilic mosquito in Asia and Indonesia. This study systematically reviews publications regarding An. vagus species, variation, bio-ecology, and malaria transmission in various localities in Asia, especially Indonesia, to determine whether the current data support An. vagus as a species complex.

Methods: The databases Pubmed, Scopus, Europe PMC, and Proquest were searched to identify information regarding the morphology, karyotypes, polytene chromosome, cross-mating, ecology, and molecular identification of An. vagus was then evaluated to determine whether there were possible species complexes.

Results: Of the 1326 articles identified, 15 studies were considered for synthesis. The Anopheles spp. samples for this study came from Asia. Eleven studies used morphology to identify An. vagus, with singular studies using each of karyotype identification, chromosomal polytene identification, and cross-breeding experiments. Ten studies used molecular techniques to identify Anopheles spp., including An. vagus. Most studies discovered morphological variations of An. vagus either in the same or different areas and ecological settings. In this review, the members of An. vagus sensu lato grouped based on morphology (An. vagus, An. vagus vagus, An. vagus limosus, and An. limosus), karyotyping (form A and B), and molecular (An. vagus genotype A and B, An. vagus AN4 and AN5). Genetic analysis revealed a high conservation of the ITS2 fragment among members except for the An. vagus genotype B, which was, in fact, Anopheles sundaicus. This review also identified that An. vagus limosus and An. vagus vagus were nearly identical to the ITS2 sequence.

Conclusion: Literature review studies revealed that An. vagus is conspecific despite the distinct morphological characteristic of An. vagus and An. limosus. Further information using another barcoding tool, such as mitochondrial COI and ND6 and experimental cross-mating between the An. vagus and An. limosus may provide additional evidence for the status of An. vagus as a species complex.

Keywords: Anopheles limosus; Anopheles vagus; Anopheles vagus limosus; Phylogeny; Sibling species; Species complex.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram of literature searching
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Geographic Distribution Anopheles spp. and Anopheles vagus examination. Map of Country in Mainland Asia and South East Asia was sourced from: https://gadm.org/maps.html
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Sequences Alignment rDNA ITS2 fragment sample An. vagus members from Indonesia and East Timor. An. vagus (GenBank accession number FJ654649) is the reference sequence from all studies from Indonesia and East Timor. An. vagus (OM974188) is newest sequence sample from East Java Indonesia. GenBank accession number GQ500122 for An. vagus genotype A, GQ480824 and GQ480823 for An. vagus Genotype B, MT740902 and MT740903 for An. vagus AN4 dan AN5, MW314227 and OL437110 for An. vagus vagus (1) and (2), MW319822 for An. vagus limosus. OL437109 for An. limosus
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Sequence alignment rDNA ITS2 fragment An. sundaicus (AY768540) and An. vagus genotype B (GQ480823 and GQ480824)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. World Malaria Report: 20 years of global progress and challenges. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015791
    1. Harbach RE. The phylogeny and classification of Anopheles. In: Manguin S, editor. Anopheles mosquitoes—new insights into malaria vectors. IntechOpen; 2013.
    1. WHO. Anopheline Species Complexes in South and South-East Asia. SEARO Technical Publication 57. World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia, New Delhi, India, 2007.
    1. Choochote W, Saeung A. Systematic techniques for the recognition of Anopheles species complexes. In: Manguin S, editor. Anopheles mosquitoes—new insights into malaria vectors. IntechOpen; 2013.
    1. Saeung A, Baimai V, Thongsahuan S, Otsuka Y, Srisuka W, Taai K, et al. Cytogenetic, cross-mating and molecular evidence of four cytological races of Anopheles crawfordi (Diptera: Culicidae) in Thailand and Cambodia. C R Biol. 2014;337:625–634. doi: 10.1016/j.crvi.2014.08.001. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types