Abstract
BackgroundAnopheles mosquitoes are the vectors of malaria, one of the most important infectious diseases in the tropics. More than 500 Anopheles species have been described worldwide, and more than 30 are considered a public health problem. In Honduras, information on the distribution of Anopheles spp. and its genetic diversity is scarce. This study aimed to describe the distribution and genetic diversity of Anopheles mosquitoes in Honduras.MethodsMosquitoes were captured in 8 locations in 5 malaria endemic departments during 2019. Two collection methods were used. Adult anophelines were captured outdoors using CDC light traps and by aspiration of mosquitoes at rest. Morphological identification was performed using taxonomic keys. Genetic analyses included the sequencing of a partial region of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (cox1) and the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2).ResultsA total of 1320 anophelines were collected and identified through morphological keys. Seven Anopheles species were identified. Anopheles albimanus was the most widespread and abundant species (74.02%). To confirm the morphological identification of the specimens, 175 and 122 sequences were obtained for cox1 and ITS2, respectively. Both markers confirmed the morphological identification. cox1 showed a greater nucleotide diversity than ITS2 in all species. High genetic diversity was observed within the populations of An. albimanus while An. darlingi proved to be a highly homogeneous population. Phylogenetic analyses revealed clustering patterns in An. darlingi and An. neivai in relation to specimens from South America. New sequences for An. crucians, An. vestitipennis and An. neivai are reported in this study.ConclusionsHere we report the distribution and genetic diversity of Anopheles species in endemic areas of malaria transmission in Honduras. According to our results, both taxonomic and molecular approaches are useful tools in the identification of anopheline mosquitoes. However, both molecular markers differ in their ability to detect intraspecific genetic diversity. These results provide supporting data for a better understanding of the distribution of malaria vectors in Honduras.
Highlights
Anopheles mosquitoes are the vectors of malaria, one of the most important infectious diseases in the tropics
This study aims to provide an update on the diversity of the Anopheles mosquitoes in Honduras, supporting its distribution in morphological data, as well as in two molecular markers
More morphological details of the vouchers can be observed in the project “CIGAN Bionomy of Anopheles spp. in Honduras” of the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) database
Summary
Anopheles mosquitoes are the vectors of malaria, one of the most important infectious diseases in the tropics. As a signatory to this agreement, Honduras has managed to reduce vectorial transmission by more than 96% since 2004, reporting only 651 cases in 2018 [1]. This reduction can be attributed in part to the integrated control of Anopheles species. 70 species of these three sub-genera are capable of transmitting malaria parasites [6], and of those, 30 to 40 have sufficient vector capacity to be considered as public health problems [7, 8]. Other authors point out that the most relevant species of malaria vectors recognized in Mesoamerica are An. albimanus, An. pseudopunctipennis, An. darlingi, An. vestitipennis and An. punctimacula [2]
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