Abstract
BackgroundCulex nigripalpus has a wide geographical distribution and is found in North and South America. Females are considered primary vectors for several arboviruses, including Saint Louis encephalitis virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus, as well as a potential vector of West Nile virus. In view of the epidemiological importance of this mosquito and its high abundance, this study sought to investigate wing variation in Cx. nigripalpus populations from urban parks in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.MethodsFemale mosquitoes were collected in seven urban parks in the city of São Paulo between 2011 and 2013. Eighteen landmark coordinates from the right wing of each female mosquito were digitized, and the dissimilarities between populations were assessed by canonical variate analysis and cross-validated reclassification and by constructing a Neighbor-Joining (NJ) tree based on Mahalanobis distances. The centroid size was calculated to determine mean wing size in each population.ResultsCanonical variate analysis based on fixed landmarks of the wing revealed a pattern of segregation between urban and sylvatic Cx. nigripalpus, a similar result to that revealed by the NJ tree topology, in which the population from Shangrilá Park segregated into a distinct branch separate from the other more urban populations.ConclusionEnvironmental heterogeneity may be affecting the wing shape variation of Cx. nigripalpus populations.
Highlights
Culex nigripalpus has a wide geographical distribution and is found in North and South America
All parks surveyed in this study have similar characteristics, they have been created as the city grew and there was an increase in the urban area of the city of São Paulo; they consist of secondary forest, except the Shangrilá Park, which is located in an adjacent area to a remnant of Atlantic Forest extending 60 km from São Paulo to the coast [36]
Our results indicate that the wing shape of Culex nigripalpus females is moderately heterogeneous in the populations studied
Summary
Culex nigripalpus has a wide geographical distribution and is found in North and South America. Females can lay eggs in artificial containers, thrive in urban environments and females have been reported to blood-feed on birds and humans as well as other mammals [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] This feeding behavior makes the species more of a public health concern as females can vector several arboviruses, such as Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) [9,10,11,12,13,14]. Wing geometric morphometrics are useful for assessing microevolution events but can provide valuable information on phenotypic variability and population structure [32,33,34]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
