An understanding of the taxonomic status and vector distribution of anophelines is crucial in controlling malaria.
Previous phylogenetic analyses have supported the description of six species of the Neotropical malaria vector
Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus)
albitarsis
s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae):
An. albitarsis,
Anopheles deaneorum
,
Anopheles marajoara
,
Anopheles oryzalimnetes
,
Anopheles janconnae
and
An. albitarsis F.
To evaluate the taxonomic status of
An. albitarsis
s.l. mosquitoes collected in various localities in the Colombian Caribbean region, specimens were analyzed using the
complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene, the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer
2 (ITS2) region and partial nuclear DNA
white gene sequences. Phylogenetic analyses of the COI gene sequences
detected a new lineage closely related to
An. janconnae in the Caribbean region of Colombia and determined its position
relative to the other members of the complex. However, the ITS2 and
white gene sequences lacked sufficient resolution
to support a new lineage closely related to
An. janconnae or the
An. janconnae clade. The possible involvement of this
new lineage in malaria transmission in Colombia remains unknown, but its phylogenetic closeness to
An. janconnae,
which has been implicated in local malaria transmission in Brazil, is intriguing.
