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Pinto J

Geographic population structure of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae suggests a role for the forest-savannah biome transition as a barrier to gene flow

The primary Afrotropical malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto has a complex population structure. In west Africa, this species is split into two molecular forms and displays local and regional variation in chromosomal arrangements and behaviors.
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Seasonal population dynamics and the genetic structure of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti in São Paulo, Brazil.

Population genetic studies of insect vectors can generate knowledge to improve epidemiological studies focused on the decrease of pathogen transmission. In this study, we used nine SNPs across the Aedes aegypti genome to characterize seasonal population variations of this important dengue vector.
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Hybridization and population structure of the Culex pipiens complex in the islands of Macaronesia.

The Culex pipiens complex includes two widespread mosquito vector species, Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus. The distribution of these species varies in latitude, with the former being present in temperate regions and the latter in tropical and subtropical regions.
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Gene flow-dependent genomic divergence between Anopheles gambiae M and S forms.

Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto exists as two often-sympatric races termed the M and S molecular forms, characterized by fixed differences at an X-linked marker. Extreme divergence between M and S forms at pericentromeric “genomic islands” suggested that selection on variants therein could be driving interform divergence in the presence of ongoing gene flow, but recent work has detected much more widespread genomic differentiation.
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Mosquito fauna on the Cape Verde Islands (West Africa): an update on species distribution and a new finding

To evaluate the risk of transmission of vector-borne diseases, regular updates of the geographic distribution of insect vectors are required. In the archipelago of Cape Verde, nine mosquito species have been reported.
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Genetic and phenotypic variation of the malaria vector Anopheles atroparvus in southern Europe.

BACKGROUND:
There is a growing concern that global climate change will affect the potential for pathogen transmission by insect species that are vectors of human diseases. One of these species is the former European malaria vector, Anopheles atroparvus. Levels of population differentiation of An. atroparvus from southern Europe were characterized as a first attempt to elucidate patterns of population structure of this former malaria vector.
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Feeding patterns of molestus and pipiens forms of Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in a region of high hybridization

Two biological forms of the mosquito Culex pipiens s.s., denoted pipiens and molestus, display behavioural differences that may affect their role as vectors of arboviruses. In this study, the feeding patterns of molestus and pipiens forms were investigated in Comporta (Portugal), where high levels of inter-form admixture have been recorded.
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Comparative analyses reveal discrepancies among results of commonly used methods for Anopheles gambiaemolecular form identification.

BACKGROUND:
Anopheles gambiae M and S molecular forms, the major malaria vectors in the Afro-tropical region, are ongoing a process of ecological diversification and adaptive lineage splitting, which is affecting malaria transmission and vector control strategies in West Africa. These two incipient species are defined on the basis of single nucleotide differences in the IGS and ITS regions of multicopy rDNA located on the X-chromosome.
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Distribution and hybridization of Culex pipiens forms in Greece during the West Nile virus outbreak of 2010

In 2010, an outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infections occurred in the region of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, in northern Greece. During this period, Culex pipiens sensu stricto mosquitoes were found infected by WNV lineage 2. Cx. pipiens s.s. presents two distinct biological forms, denoted molestus and pipiens.
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