Publication: Identification of five species of the Anopheles dirus complex from Thailand, using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction
Issued Date
1999-02-01
Resource Type
ISSN
0269283X
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-0033083110
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Medical and Veterinary Entomology. Vol.13, No.1 (1999), 24-32
Suggested Citation
C. Walton, J. M. Handley, C. Kuvangkadilok, F. H. Collins, R. E. Harbach, V. Baimai, R. K. Butlin Identification of five species of the Anopheles dirus complex from Thailand, using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. Medical and Veterinary Entomology. Vol.13, No.1 (1999), 24-32. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2915.1999.00142.x Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/25290
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Authors
Journal Issue
Thesis
Title
Identification of five species of the Anopheles dirus complex from Thailand, using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
The Anopheles dirus complex of mosquitoes contains some of the most important vectors of malaria in Southeast Asia. To distinguish five species of the complex that occur in Thailand, a method using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed. The method utilizes allele-specific amplification to detect fixed differences between the species in the DNA sequence of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 2. Primers were designed to amplify fragments of diagnostic length from the DNA of the different species. The method was tested on 179 mosquitoes of the An. dirus complex from many parts of Thailand and shown to be effective. Every specimen was unambiguously identified as species A, B, C, D or F (i.e. An. dirus s.s. species B, C, D or An. nemophilous, respectively) by the PCR method, with confirmation of 58/61 identifications from polytene chromosome characteristics. For the other three specimens (3/44 from Kanchanaburi 5 locality), there was disagreement between the PCR and chromosomal methods of species identification (probably due to errors in the chromosomal identifications). Primers can be combined in a single PCR reaction providing a rapid, sensitive and straightforward method of species identification. Only small quantities of DNA are required, leaving most of the mosquito to be used for other analyses.