Genetic variability of Triatoma flavida and Triatoma bruneri (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) by RAPD-PCR technique

Abstract

SUMMARYThe Triatominae (Hemiptera:Reduviidae) contains the principal and potential Chagas disease vectors present in Mexico, Central America and South America. Triatoma flavida and T. bruneri are Cuban species. These species are closely related according to morphology and were considered synonyms until 1981, when they were separated on the grounds of external characters of the body and the morphology of male genitalia. The present study seeks to analyze genetic polymorphism of T. flavida and T. bruneri populations using RAPD techniques, and to assess the genetic relationship between these species. Ten random primers were used to evaluate the genetic variability among species using RAPD-PCR. The genetic flow among them was calculated. The dendrogram based on calculated Jaccard distances showed two clearly distinguishable clusters which coincided with the studied species. Within each species, moderate genetic differentiation (Fst 0.05-0.15) and migration rates (N > 1) were found among populations, that reveal gene flow and genetic homogeneity. Between species, the Fst value showed a high genetic differentiation and the migration rate was insufficient to maintain genetic homogeneity, and confirmed the absence of gene flow between them. Our results confirm the genetic variability among T. flavida and T. bruneri species.

An Alternative and Rapid Method for the Extraction of Nucleic Acids from Ixodid Ticks by Potassium Acetate Procedure

“…It yields enough DNA to test a large number of markers and it has been recommended in the cases when many markers are to be tested on the same samples (Dellaporta et al 1983;Echevarría-Machado et al 2005;Detlef and Glazebrook 2009;Madhan Shankar et al 2009). This method has also been reported for the DNA extraction from mosquitoes and triatomines with excellent results (Fraga et al 2004;De Armas et al 2005;Fraga et al 2011). The aims of this study were to evaluate the potassium acetate procedure as an alternative and rapid DNA extraction from the ticks in order to test its efficiency and practicability in obtaining the PCR-quality material, comparing it with ammonium hydroxide and phenol-chloroform procedures, and to validate this method for the extraction of DNA for the later detection of tickborne pathogens.…”

GENETIC DIVERSITY OF Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia IN AN ENDEMIC AREA OF AMERICAN CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS, STATE OF PARANÁ, BRAZIL

“…The RAPD technique can be used to determine the level of genetic variability in sand flies and clarify doubts regarding the current species complexes, which are difficult to distinguish solely by morphological features. This technique has been used to investigate the genetic characteristics of insect vectors including the taxonomic relationships between cryptic species (Adamson et al, 1993;Fraga et al, 2011), intra-and interpopulational variability (Meneses et al, 2005;Rocha et al, 2007;Seblova et al, 2013) and the identification of populations resistant or susceptible to insecticides (Hiragi et al, 2009) or phytochemicals (Sharma et al, 2017).…”

Spermatogenesis in Nesotriatoma bruneri (Usinger 1944) (Hemiptera, Triatominae)

“…Although no natural infections have been ascribed to N. flavida and N. bruneri, Fraga et al (2011) suggested that these species should be considered in future epidemiological surveillance programs. As Chagas disease has no cure, the main way to minimize the incidence of this disease is by vector control.…”