Genetic structure of the genera Psorophora (Diptera: Culicidae) in Columbian and north American populations using isoenzymes and ITS2 sequences

Two a priori Psorophora columbiae and one a priori Ps. toltecum populations from Colombia were studied by means of eleven isoenzyme loci. The levels of genetic diversity, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, gene flow estimates, isolation by distance and genetic relationships among these three populations were studied and the results were as follows: (1) The gene diversity levels were high as well as very similar among the three populations indicating no differences between them. (2) Within each population and from a hierarchical standpoint several loci were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium simultaneously by excess and defect of heterozygous. This could reflect that several natural selection forces are acting upon these mosquito populations. (3) The gene flow estimate for these populations showed the existence of this event between them. This agrees quite well with the fact that the three populations really belong to a single species. In addition, maximum parsimony analyses with 16 isoenzyme for several individuals from four Colombian and two United States Psorophora populations showed that effectively only one species was present in the Colombian area surveyed, and that this species is Ps. columbiae, which hardly contrast with that previously suggested by other authors.