Historical analysis of a near disaster: Anopheles gambiae in Brazil.
Attributed to human-mediated dispersal, a species of the Anopheles gambiae complex invaded northeastern Brazil in 1930. This event is considered unique among the intercontinental introductions of disease vectors and the most serious one: "Few threats to the future health of the Americas have equalled that inherent in the invasion of Brazil, in 1930, by Anopheles gambiae." Because it was only in the 1960s that An. gambiae was recognized as a species complex now including seven species, the precise species identity of the Brazilian invader remains a mystery. Here we used historical DNA analysis of museum specimens, collected at the time of invasion from Brazil, and aimed at the identification of the Brazilian invader. Our results identify the arid-adapted Anopheles arabiensis as being the actual invading species. Establishing the identity of the species, in addition to being of intrinsic historical interest, can inform future threats of this sort especially in a changing environment. Furthermore, these results highlight the potential danger of human-mediated range expansions of insect disease vectors and the importance of museum collections in retrieving historical information.
Parmakelis
Aristeidis
A
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 21 Sachem Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. parmakel@nhmc.uoc.gr
Russello
Michael A
MA
Caccone
Adalgisa
A
Marcondes
Carlos Brisola
CB
Costa
Jane
J
Forattini
Oswaldo P
OP
Sallum
Maria Anice Mureb
MA
Wilkerson
Richard C
RC
Powell
Jeffrey R
JR
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D017931:DNA Primers; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D017931:DNA Primers; D004247:DNA