Identification of Culex vishnui subgroup (Diptera : Culicidae) mosquitoes from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan: Development of a species-diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assay based on sequence variation in ribosomal DNA spacers

The Cuter vishnui subgroup includes three important vectors of Japanese enc ephalitis virus. Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles, Cx. pseudovishnui Colless, and Cx. vishnui Theobald, all of which occur in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Jap an. Although these three species have been shown to be vectors of JE virus in many areas of Southeast Asia, it is not yet known what role each plays i n the transmission of the virus in this region. Reliable identification of adult, field-collected specimens is a critical component in epidemiological studies of virus transmission. Mosquitoes in the Cx. vishnui subgroup can be reliably identified in the larval stage. However, because females of the se species are very similar, it is difficult to distinguish among them usin g morphology. We developed a polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) assay for the identification of these species. Three species-specific primers were devel oped for the PCR assay based on a comparative analysis of the nucleotide se quence of the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) in the ribosomal DNA gene array. The primers, CT2REV, CP1REV, and CV1REV were designed to ampli fy a single DNA fragment each from Cx. triteniorhynchus, Cx. pseudovishnui, and Cx. vishnui, respectively, when paired with a single forward primer th at is complementary to the highly conserved 18S rDNA gene. The amplified fr agments were separated easily and identified on an agarose gel to facilitat e species identification.