Genetic structure of natural populations of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) from the Brazilian northeastern region

• Published in: Acta tropica Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 15 - 24
• Main Authors: de Queiroz Balbino, Valdir, Coutinho-Abreu, Iliano Vieira, Sonoda, Ivan Vieira, Melo, Márcia Almeida, de Andrade, Paulo Paes, de Castro, José Adail Fonseca, Rebêlo, José Macário, Carvalho, Sílvia Maria Santos, Ramalho-Ortigão, Marcelo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-04-2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: American visceral leishmaniasis; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Brazil; Chagas Disease - transmission; Diptera; Genes, Insect; Genetic Markers; Genetic Variation; Human protozoal diseases; Infectious diseases; Insect Vectors - genetics; Leishmania chagasi; Leshmaniasis; Lutzomyia longipalpis; Medical sciences; Molecular markers; Parasitic diseases; Phylogeny; Polymorphisms; Population genetics; Protozoal diseases; Psychodidae; Psychodidae - genetics; Psychodidae - physiology; Sand fly; South America; Brazil; America; Molecular markers; Sand fly; American visceral leishmaniasis; Polymorphisms; Population genetics; Lutzomyia longipalpis; Protozoal disease; Insecta; Psychodidae; Kala azar; Leishmaniasis; Parasitosis; Molecular marker; Infection; Arthropoda; Tropical medicine; Invertebrata; Diptera; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2006.01.007

In Latin America,
Lutzomyia longipalpis is the principal vector of
Leishmania chagasi, and is associated with the majority of active foci of visceral leishmaniasis. In spite of the fact that this sand fly is spread practically throughout the entire Neotropical Region, its distribution is not uniform due to geographic and environmental barriers. Geographic isolation coupled with reduced flight abilities may contribute to the appearance of cryptic species of
Lutzomyia longipalpis, which may differ in their capacity to transmit
L. chagasi. In this work, we describe the genetic structuring patterns based on polymorphism analysis of 24 RAPD-PCR loci of 7 natural populations of
Lutzomyia longipalpis obtained from Brazil's northeastern region. The estimated degree of genetic differentiation between populations, based on the population subdivision index
θ
ST (0.136), suggests a moderate degree of genetic structuring as a result of geographical isolation and restricted gene flow. Genetic distances were found to be compatible with those found between members of a single species, suggesting a taxonomic uniformity of
Lutzomyia longipalpis in the region studied.