title: Identification of single specimens of the Anopheles gambiae complex by the polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: A ribosomal DNA-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method has been developed for species identification of individuals of the five most widespread members of the Anopheles gambiae complex, a group of morphologically indistinguishable sibling mosquito species that includes the major vectors of malaria in Africa. The method, which is based on species-specific nucleotide sequences in the ribosomal DNA intergenic spacers, may be used to identify both species and interspecies hybrids, regardless of life stage, using either extracted DNA or fragments of a specimen. Intact portions of a mosquito as small as an egg or the segment of one leg may be placed directly into the PCR mixture for amplification and analysis. The method uses a cocktail of five 20-base oligonucleotides to identify An. gambiae, An. arabiensis, An. quadriannnulatus, and either An. melas in western Africa or An. melas in eastern and southern Africa.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Brogdon
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal