[Molecular variation based on mtDNA-COII gene of members of the Anopheles minimus group].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate intra- and inter-species molecular variations and phylogeny of the five members of the Minimus Group of Anopheles subgenus Cellia in China: An. aconitus, An. varuna, An. jeyporiensis, An. minimus A and An. minimus C, and to report the DNA sequence divergence among these species at a mitochondrial locus (cytochrome oxidase II).

METHODS

Single mosquito's legs were digested to extract DNA. COII gene was amplified, sequenced and analysed; and the phylogenetic tree of members of An. minimus group was reconstructed by maximum likelihood method (DNAML).

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSION

The data confirmed the presence of two cryptic species, A and C, within An. minimus complex in the research localities; and two species differed by 2.3% in the COII sequences owing to 16 nucleotide substitutions. There was less variation between the two species than other members of the Minimus Group.