Structural divergence of chromosomes between malaria vectors Anopheles lesteri and Anopheles sinensis

Abstract

Background Anopheles lesteri and Anopheles sinensis are two major malaria vectors in China and Southeast Asia. They are dramatically different in terms of geographical distribution, host preference, resting habitats, and other traits associated with ecological adaptation and malaria transmission. Both species belong to the Anopheles hyrcanus group, but the extent of genetic differences between them is not well understood. To provide an effective way to differentiate between species and to find useful markers for population genetics studies, we performed a comparative cytogenetic analysis of these two malaria vectors.ResultsPresented here is a standard cytogenetic map for An. lesteri, and a comparative analysis of chromosome structure and gene order between An. lesteri and An. sinensis. Our results demonstrate that much of the gene order on chromosomes X and 2 was reshuffled between the two species. However, the banding pattern and the gene order on chromosome 3 appeared to be conserved. We also found two new polymorphic inversions, 2Lc and 3Rb, in An. lesteri, and we mapped the breakpoints of these two inversions on polytene chromosomes.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the extent of structural divergence of chromosomes between An. lesteri and An. sinensis, and provide a new taxonomic cytogenetic tool to distinguish between these two species. Polymorphic inversions of An. lesteri could serve as markers for studies of the population structure and ecological adaptations of this major malaria vector.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1855-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A standard photomap of the ovarian nurse cell chromosomes for the dominant malaria vector in Europe and Middle East Anopheles sacharovi

“…gambiae Ovarian nurse cells 2010 [ 36 ] 2002 [ 27 ], 2007 [ 31 ], 2010 [ 36 ] An. lesteri Salivary glands 2016 [ 59 ] 2016 [ 59 ] An. nili Ovarian nurse cells 2011 [ 35 ] 2011 [ 35 ], 2012 [ 54 ] An.…”

Chromosomes as Barcodes: Discovery of a New Species of Black Fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) from California, USA

“…The pattern of dark and light chromosomal bands is typically species-specific. Chromosomal barcodes, consequently, have been used as taxonomic tools in Diptera, notably the families Chironomidae, Culicidae, Drosophilidae, and Simuliidae [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. They have been used to discover and delimit species, infer phylogenies, understand speciation, and map the genome [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”