Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of anopheline (Anophelinae: Culicidae) mosquitoes of the Oriental and Afrotropical Zoogeographic zones in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a diverse fauna due to its peculiar position bordering the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palaearctic zoogeographic zones. The present study reports the phylogenetics of five mosquito species belonging to five series of Anopheles (Cellia) . We collected mosquito larvae from eastern, western and southwestern regions of KSA. The sampled mosquitoes were morphologically identified using the pictorial keys of mosquitoes and characterized by using single and multi-locus analysis of -internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region and cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI). Based on the morphological and molecular data, five species were recognized, like An. stephensi (Neocellia) (Oriental), An. arabiensis (Pyretophorus) (Afrotropical), An. dthali (Myzomyia) (Oriental and Palaearctic), An. cinereus (Paramyzomyia) and An. rhodesiensis rupicola (Neomyzomyia) (Oriental and Palaearctic). The phylogenetic analysis showed that An. stephensi is a monophyletic species with different ecotypes found in different geographic regions. Comprehensive phylogenetics and population genetics studies are crucial for a better understanding of the role of these five mosquito species in malarial transmission across various zoogeographic zones of different ecological and demographic characteristics.