Journal of Vector Ecology (2011) 36, S49-S57

V. Dvorak, J. Votypka, A.M. Aytekin, B. Alten and P. Volf (2011)
Intraspecific variability of natural populations of Phlebotomus sergenti, the main vector of Leishmania tropica
Journal of Vector Ecology 36 (Suppl. s1), S49-S57
Special Issue: Sand Fly Research and Control
Abstract: An intraspecific study of Phlebotomus sergenti was performed on populations from Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Uzbekistan by four different approaches: geometric morphometrics, RAPD analysis, internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequencing (nuclear marker), and cytochrome B sequencing (mitochondrial marker). In RAPD analysis, distinct clades were formed in accordance with the geographical origin of the specimens. There was no distinct grouping according to place of origin within the Turkish samples from various localities in south-eastern Anatolia, which suggests a gene flow between populations separated spatially by the Amanos mountains, a mountain range of a considerable altitude. The results of ITS2 rDNA sequencing complied with the previously published intraspecific division of P. sergenti into two branches, northeastern and southwestern. However, mtDNA haplotypes formed three lineages with specimens from Turkey and Israel, sharing a common clade. A previously postulated hypothesis about a complex of sibling species within P. sergenti is therefore questionable. Cytochrome B seems to be a more discriminative marker for intraspecific variability assessment.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Bulent Alten

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Phlebotomus sergenti		Turkey
	Phlebotomus sergenti		Uzbekistan
	Phlebotomus sergenti		Israel
	Phlebotomus sergenti		Syria