No abstract

In Spain, only two of the 12 recorded species of sandflies, Phlebotomus (Larroussius) ariasi Tonnoir and P. (L.) perniciosus Newstead, are proven vectors of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, the causative agent of endemic leishmaniasis. Studies of the distributions of phlebotomine sandflies are important for evaluating the possible effects of climate warming on any northward or altitudinal range shifts of leishmaniasis or the other diseases they transmit. We describe a recent sandfly survey in Spain, starting in the northern Ebro Valley and continuing southeast into the Levante region of the Mediterranean coast. Sandflies (P. ariasi only) were found for the first time in the northern province of Alava, in the upper Ebro Valley, where cases of canine leishmaniasis have been described during the last decade. Throughout the provinces sampled, P. ariasi predominated over P. perniciosus in cooler bioclimatic zones, and this statistically significant pattern was more marked than that with higher altitudes.

A morphological and molecular analysis was undertaken with the objective of identifying markers for geographical populations of Old World screwworm flies, Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The morphological analysis involved 192 adult flies from 14 countries, and the molecular analysis involved 45 larvae or adults from 14 populations in 11 countries. Principal components and cluster analysis of 10 morphological characters indicated that flies from Papua New Guinea (PNG) were a distinct group and most similar to flies from nearby Asian islands (Java, Sabah). There was poor resolution of other geographical regions, but some support for clustering of flies from Africa or India. Cladistic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences gave strong support for recognizing two races of Old World screwworm, one from sub-Saharan Africa and the other from the Gulf region and Asia. This latter race could be further divided into two lineages, i.e. one from mainland Asia (from Iraq to the Malay Peninsula) and the other from two islands of PNG.

Summary:Phlebotomus sergenti was identified morphologically in samples from three Moroccan foci of leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in the provinces of Azilal, Essaouira and Taza. Three primary mitochondrial DNA lineages were identified, and they could be markers for regionally distributed cryptic species. Greater mitochondrial diversity in Azilal indicated that this central province could have been the origin of dispersal of P. sergenti or the zone of secondary contact. All except one of the 21 mitochondrial haplotypes showed a marked regional distribution, and this indicates that vector control would not always be followed by rapid, long-distance reinvasion. Only mitochondrial haplotype SER 18 was a putative marker for long-distance dispersal, for which there is no evidence of human assistance. KEY WORDS :Leishmania tropica, Phlebotomus sergenti, mitochondrial lineages, host-parasite co-associations, phylogeography. Résumé : DIFFÉRENTIATION GÉNÉTIQUE RÉGIONALE DE PHLEBOTOMUS SERGENTI DANS TROIS FOYERS MAROCAINS DE

. Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a major cause of traumatic myiasis in livestock in Central and Eastern Europe and in countries bordering the Mediterranean. The present study explored the utility of external body characters, genitalia characters and mitochondrial DNA characters for identification of this and related species in the subfamily Paramacronychiinae. Sequence analyses of the 3 ′ terminal 273 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed two lineages of W. magnifica , one from Spain and France and the other from the rest of Eurasia, differing by only two base pairs. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b showed that W. magnifica and Wohlfahrtia vigil Walker were sister species; this conclusion was not contradicted by a phylogenetic analysis of the morphological characters. Based on cytochrome b , the genetic distance between specimens of W. vigil from Europe and North America was sufficiently large to justify the recognition of more than one species. A new species, Wohlfahrtia monegrosensis , from northern Spain, was described, based on morphology and cytochrome b . A unique combination of external body characters of males or females were diagnostic for W. magnifica , the W. vigil group and Wohlfahrtia bella , but only the genitalia characters were diagnostic for all nine species studied.