Molecular and morphological identification of local sand fly species in Saudi Arabia
The identification of sand fly species is important for prediction of disease risks. A method of typing
Sergentomyia and Phlebotomus taxa in three areas in Saudi Arabia was investigated by establishing a polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) and direct partial sequence of 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using specific designed
primers. Morphological investigation of adults sand fly showed that Phlebotomine flies are identified into five
species, three of them belong to genus Phlebotomus (P. papatasi, P. bergeroti, P. sergenti), and two belong to genus
Sergentomyia (S. antennata and S. clydei). Several direct PCR – amplified sequences of each species analyzed using
Maximum Composite Likelihood (MCL), Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and MEGA 5 methods revealed phylogenetic
relationships of taxa. The obtained data of 18S subunits of rRNA gene showed moderate degree of interspecific
variability between species of the same genus and among species of different genera. These results provide a
powerful tool for further molecular retyping of Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia species in endemic areas of Saudi
Arabia which may help planning for appropriate epidemiological surveillance programs that could be used to detect
natural infections of sand fly vectors with pathogens, and hence, designing the appropriate control measure that limit
spreading of such serious vectors.
Aedes aegypti (Culicidae), the mosquito that causes yellow fever, is regarded as a significant vector for
many disease agents. The current study sought to learn more about mosquito mid-gut…