POLYMORPHISMS DETECTED BY RANDOM PCR DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT CHROMOSOMAL FORMS OF ANOPHELES-GAMBIAE

We have applied PCR amplification using random primers to distinguish between incipient species of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Ind ividuals belonging to three chromosomally characterized West African f orms of this mosquito, which are important epidemiologically as they d iffer in vectorial capacity, were sampled both from laboratory stocks and from wild populations collected in three localities. The technique s used allowed for the unambiguous classification of the mosquitoes, p roviding a tool for rapid and efficient diagnosis, which previously re lied on cytological examination of polytene chromosomes.