Genetic differentiation in the yellow fever virus vector, Aedes simpsoni complex, in Africa: Sequence variation in the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers of anthropophilic and non-anthropophilic populations

Mosquitoes of the Aedes simpsoni complex are important vectors of yellow fe ver virus in Africa. We examined the ribosomal DNA sequence divergence in t he internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS-1 and ITS-2) for populations of mosquitoes that were determined to be anthropophilic or non-anthropophilic in their bloodmeal host preference. A neighbour-joining tree produced two clades: one contained all of the individual mosquitoes from anthropophilic populations and the other contained all of the individual mosquitoes from n on-anthropophilic populations. There was no segregation of the taxa within each of the two clades based on geographical origin. The data suggest the e xisf'tence of two distinct species of Ae. simpsoni s.l. in Uganda that corr elates with their host blood-feeding preference. The current taxonomic stat us of the complex is discussed in relation to these findings.