Molecular evidence of incipient speciation within Anopheles gambiae s.s. in West Africa
della Torre, A;
Fanello, C;
Akogbeto, M;
Dossou-Yovo, J;
Favia, G;
Petrarca, V;
Coluzzi, M;
(2001)
Molecular evidence of incipient speciation within Anopheles gambiae s.s. in West Africa.
Insect molecular biology, 10 (1).
pp. 9-18.
ISSN 0962-1075
https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/17658
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We karyotyped and identified by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis Anopheles gambiae s.s. samples collected in several African countries. The data show the existence of two non-panmictic molecular forms, named S and M, whose distribution extended from forest to savannahs, Mosquitoes of the S and M forms are homosequential standard for chromosome-2 inversions in forest areas. In dry savannahs, S is characterized mainly by inversion polymorphisms typical of Savanna and Bamako chromosomal forms, while M shows chromosome-2 arrangements typical of Mopti and/or Savanna and/or Bissau, depending on its geographical origin. Chromosome-2 inversions therefore seem to be involved in ecotypic adaptation rather than in mate-recognition systems. Strong support for the reproductive isolation of S and M in Ivory Coast comes from the observation that the kdr allele is found at high frequencies in S specimens and not at all in chromosomal identical M specimens. However, the kdr allele does not segregate with molecular forms in Benin.