"use of random amplified polymorphic dna polymerase chain reaction (rapd-pcr) and its2 pcr assays for differentiation of populations and putative sibling species of anopheles fluviatilis (diptera: culicidae) in iran"

anopheles fluviatilis complex is known to be a vector of malaria in iran. since mosquitoes of this species cover a wide geographical range in iran, they might have evolved into different separated populations. random amplified polymorphic dna polymerase chain reaction (rapd-pcr) assay was used to differentiate geographic populations of this species. dna was extracted from individual mosquitoes from 8 localities in 4 south and southeast provinces and amplified in pcr reactions using 18 single primers of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. results of rapd-pcr showed that kazeroun populations could simply be differentiated from other populations using a diagnostic fragment amplified with primer ubc-306. but other populations could not be differentiated either visually or by means of statistical analysis. moreover its2 fragments of some selected specimens were amplified using a pair of universal primer and sequenced as a key standard for detection of putative sibling species. sequence analysis of the its2 fragments revealed a very high (100%) homology among the populations. these findings are crucial in epidemiological studies concerning relatedness of geographic populations and vector movement in the region. results of rapd-pcr and its2 analysis suggest that this taxon in iran comprises of only one species with a low genetic variation among geographic populations.