Molecular characterization of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from the tropical rainforest of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
BACKGROUNDThe Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rainforest has diverse fauna due to its position in northern Colombia, a Caribbean region with predominantly tropical, dry, and rainforest ecosystems in which there is a high diversity of mosquito species that may act as arbovirus vectors. OBJECTIVESThe present study reports the molecular characterization of select mosquito species in this rainforest. METHODSManual capture methods were used to collect mosquitoes, and the specimens were identified via classical taxonomy. The COI marker was used for species confirmation, and phylogenetic analysis was performed, using the neighbor-joining method, with the Kimura-2-Parameters model. FINDINGSAedes serratus, Psorophora ferox, Johnbelkinia ulopus, Sabethes cyaneus, Wyeomyia aporonoma, Wyeomyia pseudopecten, Wyeomyia ulocoma and Wyeomyia luteoventralis were identified and intra-species variation >2% for most species. MAIN CONCLUSIONSWe report the first records on the genetic variability of mosquitoes in this area and phylogenetic reconstructions allowed for identification at the species level, and the corroboration by means of classical taxonomy suggested complementarity of both methods, which may be employed when morphological or molecular data are poor or not available. The genetic and morphological characterization of jungle mosquito populations will help to understand their biology.