title: Genetic structure of Triatoma venosa (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): molecular and morphometric evidence.
abstract: Triatoma venosa presents a restricted geographical distribution in America and is considered as a secondary vector of Chagas disease in Colombia and Ecuador. A total of 120 adult insects were collected in domestic and peridomestic habitats in an endemic area of the department of Boyacá, Colombia, in order to determine their genetic structure through morphometric and molecular techniques. The head and wings of each specimen were used for the analyses of size, shape, and sexual dimorphism. A significant sexual dimorphism was found, although no differences in size among the studied groups were detected. Differences were found in the analyzed structures except for male heads. DNA was extracted from the legs in order to carry out the internal transcriber space-2 (ITS-2) amplification and the randon amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses. Length polymorphisms were not detected in the ITS-2. Fst and Nm values were estimated (0.047 and 3.4, respectively). The high genetic flow found among the insects captured in the domicile and peridomiciliary environment does not permit a genetic differentiation, thus establishing the peridomicile as an important place for epidemiological surveillance.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Espitia
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Patiño
authors.forename: Nestor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jaramillo
authors.forename: María Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bargues
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guhl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014224:Triatoma / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer