DNA Barcoding and Phylogenetic Analysis of Culex and Anopheles Species in Siirt, Türkiye

Abstract

Mosquitoes play a critical role as disease vectors, making them significant in terms of both public health concerns and ecological balance. This study aims to identify mosquito specimens collected from Siirt city center and six different districts using morphological and molecular methods. A 658 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene region was used for molecular diagnosis. The findings revealed four mosquito species: Culex theileri Theobald, 1903, Culex mimeticus Noè, 1899, Culex quinquefasciatus Say, 1823, and Anopheles superpictus Grassi, 1899. Mitochondrial gene PCR products were sequenced, and the sequences were uploaded to the NCBI database for public access. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using these sequences to investigate the genetic distances and evolutionary relationships among the mosquito species. In the phylogenetic analysis, Chironomus kiiensis was used as an outgroup. The analysis revealed that C. quinquefasciatus and A. superpictus were had the highest genetic distance (0.16), while the closest genetic distance was observed between C. quinquefasciatus and C. theileri (0.06). This study is presented as a preliminary investigation into the genetic diversity, evolutionary relationships, and population dynamics of mosquito species in Siirt Province. Further studies with a larger sample size and additional sequences are needed to establish more comprehensive phylogenetic relationships. The molecular findings contribute significantly to the systematic and ecological studies of mosquitoes.