title: Molecular identification of Palearctic members of Anopheles maculipennis in northern Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Members of Anopheles maculipennis complex are effective malaria vectors in Europe and the Caspian Sea region in northern Iran, where malaria has been re-introduced since 1994. The current study has been designed in order to provide further evidence on the status of species composition and to identify more accurately the members of the maculipennis complex in northern Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The second internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (rDNA-ITS2) was sequenced in 28 out of 235 specimens that were collected in the five provinces of East Azerbayjan, Ardebil, Guilan, Mazandaran and Khorassan in Iran.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The length of the ITS2 ranged from 283 to 302 bp with a GC content of 49.33-54.76%. No intra-specific variations were observed. Construction of phylogenetic tree based on the ITS2 sequence revealed that the six Iranian members of the maculipennis complex could be easily clustered into three groups: the An. atroparvus-Anopheles labranchiae group; the paraphyletic group of An. maculipennis, An. messeae, An. persiensis; and An. sacharovi as the third group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Detection of three species of the An. maculipennis complex including An. atroparvus, An. messae and An. labranchiae, as shown as new records in northern Iran, is somehow alarming. A better understanding of the epidemiology of malaria on both sides of the Caspian Sea may be provided by applying the molecular techniques to the correct identification of species complexes, to the detection of Plasmodium composition in Anopheles vectors and to the status of insecticide resistance by looking to related genes.
authors.affiliation: Malaria Research Group, Biotechnology Department, Institut Pasteur of Iran, Tehran, Iran. ndjadid@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Navid D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Djadid
authors.forename: Saber
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gholizadeh
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tafsiri
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romi
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gordeev
authors.forename: Sedigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zakeri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification*; D007492:Iran; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal