Genetic evidence of Expansion by Passive transport of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti in Eastern Argentina

DÍAZ NIETO LEONARDO M.; CHIAPPERO MARINA B.; DÍAZ DE ASTARLOA CLARA M.; MACIÁ ARNALDO; GARDENAL CRISTINA N.; BERÓN CORINA M.

PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2016

1935-2735

Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae) is the principal vector of the Yellow fever virus, the Dengue virus serotypes, Chikunguya virus and several types of Encephalitis. The behaviour of this species is strictly synanthropic and anthropophilic, and it is the culicid most closely associated with human populations. In March of 2011 and 2012 our group reported a new biogeographical record of A. aegypti in the Southeast of Argentina. In order to determine the origin of A. aegypti populations distribution present in this new expansion area, we analized the mitochondrial lineages of this mosquito populations and compared their haplotypes with the haplotypes previously determined by Albrieu Llinás and Gardenal (2012) in Argentina and neighboring countries. The sampling stations were cemeteries and used tires located in towns next to Provincial Route No 2 and in Buenos Aires city, La Plata (both at 400k north from Mar del Plata) and San Clemente del Tuyú, a small town located i the Atlantic coast at 328km south from Buenos Aires city, where this mosquito species was found for the first time. A 450 bp fragment of the ND5 gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reactionfrom a DNA extraction of each single larva. DNA secuences were identified and the haplotype frecuences for each population were calculated. In this work we report the presence of only two haplotypes in the new distribution area. H1 haplotype was detected in all localities analized, while H2 was only in two localities. According to our results only passive migration through human transport may explain the observed patterns, demonstrating once again the urgent need to implement serious campaigns to control vector mosquitoes and consequently the development of responsible control campaigns of the mosquito-borne diseases.