Genetic structure of Aedes albifasciatus (Diptera : Culicidae) populationsin central Argentina determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction markers
Gb. De Sousa et al., Genetic structure of Aedes albifasciatus (Diptera : Culicidae) populationsin central Argentina determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction markers, J MED ENT, 36(3), 1999, pp. 400-404
The floodwater mosquito, Aedes albifasciatus (Macquart), is the main vector
of western equine encephalomyelitis virus in Argentina. Previous studies o
n the genetic structure of this species using allozymes showed low levels o
f polymorphism, absence of subpopulations at distinct habitats, and moderat
e differentiation among localities separated up to 500 km. To examine gene
now using other genetic methods, we analyzed random amplified polymorphic D
NA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) polymorphism in 28 presumptive loci
of Ae, albifasciatus from 6 populations in central Argentina. Allele frequ
encies were estimated assuming that RAPD products segregate as dominants an
d that genotype frequencies at those loci are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
. Expected heterozygosity ranged between 0.19 and 0.31, approximate to 3 ti
mes the value obtained on the basis of the16 allozymic loci studied previou
sly. Four of the populations formed a single panmictic unit. Allele frequen
cies in populations occupying different phytogeographic regions gave signif
icant F-ST values at 5 loci. Effective migration rates among populations es
timated from F-ST ranged from 2.3 to 9.0. The results support the existence
of a north-south dine.