Population Structure and Distribution Patterns of the Sibling Mosquito Species <i>Culex pipiens</i> and <i>Culex torrentium</i> (Diptera: Culicidae) Reveal Different Evolutionary Paths

<div><p>Nowadays a number of endemic mosquito species are known to possess vector abilities for various diseases, as e.g. the sibling species <i>Culex pipiens</i> and <i>Culex torrentium</i>. Due to their morphological similarity, ecology, distribution and vector abilities, knowledge about these species' population structure is essential. Culicidae from 25 different sampling sites were collected from March till October 2012. All analyses were performed with aligned cox1 sequences with a total length of 658 bp. Population structure as well as distribution patterns of both species were analysed using molecular methods and different statistical tests like distance based redundancy analysis (dbDRA), analysis of molecular variances (AMOVA) or McDonald & Kreitman test and Tajima's D. Within both species, we could show a genetic variability among the cox1 fragment. The construction of haplotype networks revealed one dominating haplotype for <i>Cx. pipiens</i>, widely distributed within Germany and a more homogeneous pattern for <i>Cx. torrentium</i>. The low genetic differences within <i>Cx. pipiens</i> could be a result of an infection with <i>Wolbachia</i> which can induce a sweep through populations by passively taking the also maternally inherited mtDNA through the population, thereby reducing the mitochondrial diversity as an outcome of reproductive incompatibility. Pairwise population genetic differentiation (F_ST) ranged significantly from moderate to very great between populations of <i>Cx. pipiens</i> and <i>Cx. torrentium</i>. Analyses of molecular variances revealed for both species that the main genetic variability exists within the populations (<i>Cx. pipiens</i> [88.38%]; <i>Cx. torrentium</i> [66.54%]). Based on a distance based redundancy analysis geographical origin explained a small but significant part of the species' genetic variation. Overall, the results confirm that <i>Cx. pipiens</i> and <i>Cx. torrentium</i> underlie different factors regarding their mitochondrial differentiation, which could be a result of endosymbiosis, dispersal between nearly located populations or human introduction.</p>