BACKGROUND
Malaria is a public health concern in the Amazonian Region, where
Anopheles darlingi
is the main vector of
Plasmodium
spp. Several studies hypothesised the existence of cryptic species in
An. darlingi
, considering variations in behaviour, morphological and genetic aspects. Determining their overall genetic background for vector competence, insecticide resistance, and other elements is essential to better guide strategies for malaria control.
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to evaluate the molecular diversity in genes related to behaviour and insecticide resistance, estimating genetic differentiation in
An. darlingi
populations from Amazonian localities in Brazil and Pacific Colombian region.
METHODS
We amplified, cloned and sequenced fragments of genes related to behaviour:
timeless
(
tim
) and
period
(
per
), and to insecticide resistance: voltage-gated sodium channel (
Na
V
) and acetylcholinesterase (
ace
-
1
) from 516
An. darlingi
DNA samples from Manaus, Unini River, Jaú River and Porto Velho - Brazil, and Chocó - Colombia. We discriminated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), determined haplotypes and evaluate the phylogenetic relationship among the populations.
FINDINGS
The genes
per
,
tim
and
ace-1
were more polymorphic than
Na
V
. The classical
kdr
and
ace-1
R
mutations were not observed. Phylogenetic analyses suggested a significant differentiation between
An. darlingi
populations from Brazil and Colombia, except for the
Na
V
gene. There was a geographic differentiation within Brazilian populations considering
per
and
ace-1
.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results add genetic data to the discussion about polymorphisms at population levels in
An. darlingi
. The search for insecticide resistance-related mechanisms should be extended to more populations, especially from localities with a vector control failure scenario.