Mitochondrial DNA-based genetic diversity of Anopheles nivipes in North East India

Abstract

Malaria is a major public health problem in north-east India mainly transmitted by Anopheles baimai and An. minimus while Anopheles nivipes plays an important supportive role. The genetic diversity of An. nivipes in north-east India was investigated by employing two mitochondrial DNA markers namely NADH dehydrogenase 5 (ND5) and cytochrome oxidase sub unit II (COII). High genetic diversity in An. nivipes was observed by the detection of 16 haplotypes among 30 sequences of ND5 gene and 29 haplotypes among 29 COII sequences. Anopheles nivipes of north-east India was significantly differentiated genetically with that of neighboring South-east Asian An. nivipes as revealed by pairwise F_ST values of 0.127 (p < 0.01) and 0.044 (p < 0.001) for ND5 and COII genes, respectively, suggesting geographical barriers to gene flow in this species between the two geographical areas resulting in significant population structuring.

Keywords:

• COII gene
• gene flow
• malaria vector
• ND5 gene
• population structure

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to various health officials of the seven north-eastern states for their help in field work and to Messers Pawan Thakur, Devo Mahanta, and Late Atul Chandra Rabha for helping in mosquito collections and laboratory work. Funding for this work from Indian Council of Medical Research is gratefully acknowledged.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. Authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. This study was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India.