Background
Anopheles sinensis
is one of the major malaria vectors in China and other southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand. Vector control is considered to be the critical measure for malaria control, while the increasing prevalence of insecticide resistance caused by long-term use of insecticides, especially pyrethroids, is threatening the successful control of
An. sinensis
. In order to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms involved and molecular basis, the principal malaria vector,
An. sinensis
from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, Southeast China, was investigated.
Methods
The adult
Anopheles
mosquitoes were sampled from multiple sites across Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, and sufficient mosquitoes collected from eleven sites for insecticide susceptibility bioassays. The DIIS4–DIIS6 region of the
para
-type sodium channel gene was amplified and sequenced, then multiple PCR and Taqman assays were used to assess the frequencies of
kdr
mutations at the target gene.
Results
In the present study, most of the adult
An. sinensis
populations were pyrethroids resistant, which indicated the presence of
kdr
resistance mutations in the
para
-type sodium channel gene. Sequence analyses demonstrated the
kdr
mutation existed at codon 1014 in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. In adult
An. sinensis
, three mutant types (TTT L1014F, TTC L1014F, and TGT L1014C) of
kdr
alleles were detected, while no wild type (TTG L1014) was observed. The TTC L1014F mutation was first reported in Anhui province.
Conclusions
The highly polymorphic
kdr
alleles were observed in all the adult
An. sinensis
populations, which suggested that in-depth studies are required for carrying on insecticide resistance monitoring and specific resistance mechanisms studying into establish effective long-term malaria vector control program in eastern China.