Microsatellite-based analysis reveals Aedes aegypti populations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia result from colonization by both the ancestral African and the global domestic forms

Mashlawi, Abadi M. and Alqahtani, Hussain and Abuelmaali, Sara A. and Gloria-Soria, Andrea and Saingamsook, Jassada and Kaddumukasa, Martha and Ghzwani, Ahmad Hassn and Abdulhaq, Ahmed A. and Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M. and Walton, Catherine (2024) Microsatellite-based analysis reveals Aedes aegypti populations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia result from colonization by both the ancestral African and the global domestic forms. Evolutionary Applications, 17 (2). e13661. ISSN 1752-4571, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13661.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13661

Abstract

The Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) mosquito is the main vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika and is well established today all over the world. The species comprises two forms: the ancestral form found throughout Africa and a global domestic form that spread to the rest of the tropics and subtropics. In Saudi Arabia, A. aegypti has been known in the southwest since 1956, and previous genetic studies clustered A. aegypti from Saudi Arabia with the global domestic form. The purpose of this study was to assess the genetic structure of A. aegypti in Saudi Arabia and determine their geographic origin. Genetic data for 17 microsatellites were collected for A. aegypti ranging from the southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia on the border of Yemen to the north-west in Madinah region as well as from Thailand and Uganda populations (as representatives of the ancestral African and global domestic forms, respectively). The low but significant level of genetic structuring in Saudi Arabia was consistent with long-distance dispersal capability possibly through road connectivity and human activities, that is, passive dispersal. There are two main genetic groupings in Saudi Arabia, one of which clusters with the Ugandan population and the other with the Thailand population with many Saudi Arabian individuals having mixed ancestry. The hypothesis of genetic admixture of the ancestral African and global domestic forms in Saudi Arabia was supported by approximate Bayesian computational analyses. The extent of admixture varied across Saudi Arabia. African ancestry was highest in the highland area of the Jazan region followed by the lowland Jazan and Sahil regions. Conversely, the western (Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah) and Najran populations corresponded to the global domesticated form. Given potential differences between the forms in transmission capability, ecology and behaviour, the findings here should be taken into account in vector control efforts in Saudi Arabia.

Item Type: Article
Funders: Jazan University, Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia (ISP-2024), Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London (SACB) PhD Studentship, Research England QR GCRF, Office of Research Administration, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Uncontrolled Keywords: Aedes aegypti; Aedes formosus; Arabian Peninsula; genetic diversity; microsatellites; mosquitoes; population genetics; Saudi Arabia
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine > Parasitology Deparment
Depositing User: Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim
Date Deposited: 08 Nov 2024 07:45
Last Modified: 08 Nov 2024 07:45
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/45691

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