On the conspecificity ofAnopheles fluviatilis species S withAnopheles minimus species C

Abstract

Anopheles fluviatilis and An. minimus complexes,each comprising of at least three sibling species, are closely related and important malaria vectors in Oriental Region. Recently An. fluviatilis species S, which is a highly efficient malaria vector in India, has been made conspecific with An. minimus species C (senior synonym) on the basis of homology in 335 base pair nucleotide sequence of D3 domain of 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). We examined the conspecificity of these two nominal species by obtaining and analysing the DNA sequences of nuclear ribosomal loci internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and D2-D3 domain of 28S rDNA (28S-D2/D3) from those of An. fluviatilis S and An. minimus C. We found that the sequences of An. fluviatilis S are appreciably different from those of An. minimus C with pair-wise distance (Kimura-2-parametre model)of 3.6 and 0.7%for loci ITS2 and 28S-D2/D3, respectively. Pair-wise distance and phylogenetic analyses using ITS2 sequences of members of Minimus and Fluviatilis Complexes revealed that An. fluviatilis S is distantly related to An. minimus C as compared to any other members of the Fluviatilis Complex. These findings suggest that the two nominal species, An. fluviatilis S and An. minimus C, do not merit synonymy. The study also confirms that the reported species An. fluviatilis X is synonym with species S.

Formal taxonomy of species C of the Anopheles minimus sibling species complex (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…minimus C based on appreciable differences in the sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) locus and D2-D3 domain of 28S rDNA. Singh et al (2006) also documented the presence of species C in central Myanmar. Harbach (2004) pointed out that little progress has been made in giving formal names to members of sibling species complexes in cases where the availability of junior synonyms of the nominotypical species must be considered.…”

“…More recently, however, the occurrence of An. minimus C in India was refuted by Singh et al (2006) who showed that An. fluviatilis S is distinct from An.…”

Genetic compatibility between Anopheles lesteri from Korea and Anopheles paraliae from Thailand

“…paraliae from Thailand, based on ITS2 sequences, was in accordance with previous reports of different groups of Anopheles, e.g., the Anopheles gambiae complex (0.4-1.6%) (Paskewitz et al 1993), Anopheles dunhami and Anopheles nuneztovari (mean genetic distance = 0.025) (Ruiz et al 2010), Anopheles fluviatilis S and An. minimus C (pairwise distance = 0.036) (Singh et al 2006), Anopheles kunmingensis and Anopheles liangshanensis (pairwise distance = 0.0381) and An. pullus (= An.…”

“…minimus C based on comparison of the D3 domains of 28S (28S-D3) (Harbach 2004, Garros et al 2005, Chen et al 2006). However, Singh et al (2006) carried out molecular analysis on ITS2 and D2-D3 domains of 28S rDNA regions of An. fluviatilis S and An.…”

Molecular Variation and Distribution ofAnopheles fluviatilis(Diptera: Culicidae) Complex in Iran

“…minimus species C (senior synonym) on the basis of homology in the 335 base pair nucleotide sequence of the D3 domain of the 28S gene [9,20]. However, this idea was refuted by Singh et al [21] who showed that An. fluviatilis S is distinct from An.…”