Genetic differentiation in populations of Aedes aegypti (Diptera, Culicidae) dengue vector from the Brazilian state of Maranhão

AbstractAedes (Stegomyia) aegypti is the vector responsible for the transmission of the viruses that cause zika, yellow and chikungunya fevers, the four dengue fever serotypes (DENV – 1, 2, 3, 4), and hemorrhagic dengue fever in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The present study investigated the genetic differentiation of the 15 populations of this vector in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, based on the mitochondrial ND4 marker. A total of 177 sequences were obtained for Aedes aegypti, with a fragment of 337 bps, 15 haplotypes, 15 polymorphics sites, haplotype diversity of h=0.6938, and nucleotide diversity of π=0.01486. The neutrality tests (D and Fs) were not significant. The AMOVA revealed that most of the variation (58.47%) was found within populations, with FST=0.41533 (p