Wing morphometric and DNA barcoding analysis of two different public health important anopheles mosquito species

Abstract

Accurate identification and bio-ecology of mosquito vectors are of paramount importance in several respects including the development of species-specific vector control strategies. In the current study, we explored two different advanced tools such as Geometric morphometric (GM) and DNA barcoding analysis, to supplement morpho-taxonomy-based identification of malaria vectors. In landmark-based GM analysis, the pattern of wing shape was examined and we noticed a clear variation in their shape among different Anopheles species. Similarly, in the DNA barcoding studies, the phylogenetic analysis is based upon the marker genes such as mitochondrial Cytochrome oxidase subunit- I (mt COI), Cytochrome b (mt Cytb), and nuclear D3 domain of 28s rDNA gene sequences were carried out. The Neighbor-joining tree was formed by distinctive conspecific clusters illustrating genetic variation among different groups of Anopheles species. Further, genetic exchange among different Anopheline populations was analyzed by considering the COI gene sequences. In the gene flow study, the frequent genetic divergence, as well as gene exchange among Anopheles stephensi mosquito populations, was observed. Our findings suggested that GM analysis of the wing shape along with the DNA barcoding approach can effectively be used together for accurate identification of mosquito vectors including Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles barbirostris.