DEVELOPMENT OF DNA PROBES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SIBLING SPECIES-AOF THE ANOPHELES-CULICIFACIES (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE) COMPLEX

Three highly repetitive DNA sequences Rp36, Rp217 and Rp234, have been isolated from Anopheles culicifacies Giles sensu late. The cloned DNA sequences were found at a higher copy number in species B and C, than in species A of the A. culicifacies complex. These sequences may ther efore be used as DNA probes to distinguish species A from the other tw o species, using a 200-fold dilution of a single mosquito DNA extract in a dot-blot hybridization assay. Rp36 and Rp217 have been completely sequenced. Internal repeats were absent in Rp36. Two related core seq uences of 13 and 16 bp were found tandemly repeated in Rp217. These pr obes enable the rapid detection of species A of A. culicifacies in fie ld investigations.