DNA barcodes confirm the presence of a single member of the Anopheles maculipennis group in Morocco and Algeria: An. sicaulti is conspecific with An. labranchiae

Abstract

Anopheles labranchiae Falleroni is the only member of the Maculipennis Group known to occur in northern Africa; however, confusion exists as to the taxonomic status of its junior synonym, An. sicaulti Roubaud (type locality: near Rabat, Morocco). Based on morphological and behavioural distinctions, it has been suggested that Moroccan populations have been isolated from other North African populations by the Atlas Mountains, and that Moroccan populations may represent An. sicaulti, originally described as a variety of An. maculipennis Meigen. DNA barcodes (658bp of the mitochondrial COI gene) obtained from 89 An. maculipennis s.l. collected in Morocco (n=79) and Algeria (n=10) in 2007 and 2008 were used to determine if Moroccan populations are genetically isolated from those east of the Atlas Mountains (Algeria), and whether there is molecular evidence to support the presence of more than one member of the Maculipennis Group in the region. No evidence for speciation was found between Moroccan and Algerian populations, or within populations in northern Morocco. Moreover shared COI haplotypes between Algeria and Morocco indicate ongoing gene flow between populations in these countries, suggesting that the Atlas Mountains are not a boundary to gene flow in An. labranchiae. The synonymy of An. sicaulti with An. labranchiae is confirmed. That An. labranchiae comprises the same species in these North African countries is important for malaria control.