Phylogenetic relationship of six palearctic members of Anopheles maculipennis complex from Northern Iran inferred from ITS2 sequence analysis

Anopheles maculipennis complex is effective malaria vector in Europe and Northern Iran. The sequence of the second internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (rDNA- ITS2) was determined in 5 palearctic mosquito species belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis species complex namely An. maculipennis, An. sacharovi, An. persiensis, An. atroparvus and An. messeae. The length of the ITS2 ranged from 283 to 302bp with a GC content of 49.33 – 54.76%. The nucleotides were aligned with clustalw and phylogenetic tree were constructed based on ITS2 sequence by using MegAlign programs. The systematic relationship between An. maculipennis species complex revealed the presence of diphylitic branch in constructed tree. An. persiensis, An. maculipennis and An. sacharovi in one branch and An. messeae and An. atroparvous to form the other branch. Although, too early to conclude, but the presence of 5 members of An. maculipennis in Northern Iran will have a great impact on dynamics of transmission and epidemiology of malaria in this part of Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

rDNA ، ITS2 ، Phylogeny ، Anopheles maculipennis complex ، Iran