Abstract
Anopheles (
Cellia)
sundaicus (Rodenwaldt) is an important malaria vector in the Andaman and Nicobar islands of India where it breeds in freshwater as well as in brackish water. To establish the molecular identity of
An. sundaicus on these islands we analyzed samples from four geographically isolated areas—Teressa, Nancowry, Car Nicobar and Katchal islands. PCR-amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis were performed for internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and domain-3 (D3) of 28S rRNA. The ITS2 region of
An. sundaicus from all four islands was identical but different from
An. sundaicus A of Vietnam and
An. sundaicus s.s of Malaysia. Furthermore, freshwater and brackish water forms of
An. sundaicus did not reveal any sequence variation. Similarly, the D3 sequences were identical among all
An. sundaicus samples from the four islands. D3 sequences for a species of the Sundaicus Complex are reported here for the first time and thus could not be compared with other regional isolates of this species. In conclusion, probably only one member of the Sundaicus Complex exists on the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which breeds in freshwater as well as in brackish water and is different from the
An. sundaicus A and Malaysian
An. sundaicus s.s. The identification of a new sibling species of the Sundaicus Complex in these islands is significant from the viewpoint of vector control strategies.