Species identification of the Anopheles fluviatilis complex using PCR-sequencing and phylogenetic analysis in Jiroft district, Kerman province

Malaria is endemic in southeastern Iran including Jiroft district and in favorite epidemiological condition could threaten the people health. Anopheles fluviatilis complex is a malaria vector in Iran and consists of three species of S, T, and U and 7 genotypes of S, U, T1, T2, Y, X and V which are different in vectorial capacity. The aim of this study was to identify species composition of An.fluviatilis complex using D3 and ITS2 sequences in Jiroft district. Mosquitoes of An. fluviatilis have been captured using total catch, pit shelter, and human/animal night baits. PCR amplification was done against the 28S D3 and ITS2-rDNA and the products were sequenced. The specimens were identified to species and genotype level using phylogenetic trees and comparison of sequences with entries available in GenBank. Both ITS2 and D3 loci were successfully amplified and produced 514 bp and 376 bp bands respectively. Sequence analysis of ITS2 and D3 regions revealed that the specimens of Jiroft district were matching to the Y and T2 haplotypes of species T of the complex. Anopheles fluviatilis T is the only species in the region and based on the previous studies can be incrim inated as the main malaria vector in the region.