Spatial distribution and r-DNA second internal transcribed spacer characterization of Anopheles dirus (Diptera: Culicidae) complex species in north-east India
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Abstract
The identity and distribution of the prevalent member species of the Anopheles dirus
complex mosquitoes in the north-eastern region of India was investigated in a cross-sectional
study. We altogether collected 267 individuals of An. dirus s.l. from 27 forested/forest
fringed locations spread across the seven north-eastern states, identified the species
using a ribosomal DNA (r-DNA) second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) based allele
specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) method and sequenced the ITS2 locus in
a sub set of mosquitoes. An. baimaii was identified as the main, almost exclusive
(266/267), species of the Dirus complex throughout the north-east India with no intraspecific
variation in the 479 base pair long ITS2 sequences in 59 of the 60 individuals sequenced.
Ribosomal DNA of one individual from Assam state did not amplify in the ASPCR, possessed
786 base pair long ITS2 sequence and showed 99.7% similarity with the sequence of
An. dirus species D (An. baimaii) from Yunnan province of China, later referred to
as species X of the Dirus complex. These observations suggest the presence of another,
possibly the new, species of the Dirus complex, sympatric with An. baimaii, in Assam
warranting investigations on its distribution, biology and role in human malaria transmission
in north-east India.
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