Phylogeography of Aedes aegypti (Yellow Fever Mosquito) in South Florida: mtDNA Evidence for Human-Aided Dispersal

Kavitha Damal School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York

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Ebony G. Murrell School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York

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Steven A. Juliano School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York

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Jan E. Conn School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York

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Sabine S. Loew School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois; Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York

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The invasive dengue vector Aedes aegypti has persisted for > 200 years in South Florida in the United States. We tested the hypotheses that Florida's landscape creates dispersal barriers and corridors and that long-distance human-aided dispersal structures populations of Ae. aegypti. We evaluated the phylogeography of 362 individuals from Florida's East and West Coasts with a 760-bp (418- and 342-bp fragments of ND5 and ND4, respectively) mitochondrial sequence. Populations from these two coasts were not significantly differentiated, suggesting that limited urbanization in central Florida is not a strong barrier to gene flow. Evidence for long-distance dispersal between Ft. Lauderdale and the West and Ft. Myers and the East indicates the importance of human-aided dispersal. West Coast populations showed no genetic differentiation, indicating that West Coast rivers and bays did not significantly impede gene flow. Phylogeographic analysis of haplotypes showed two distinct matrilines with no geographic patterns, suggesting multiple introductions or balancing selection.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Kavitha Damal, Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. E-mail: Kavitha.damal@hsc.utah.edu

Financial support: This study was funded by Phi Sigma and Graduate Student Association Grants from Illinois State University (to K.D.), National Institutes of Health Grant AI R15-068692-01 (to S.A.J. and S.S.L.), and a grant from Illinois State University (to S.A.J.).

Authors' addresses: Kavitha Damal, Steven A. Juliano, and Sabine S. Loew, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, E-mails: Kavitha.damal@hsc.utah.edu, sajulian@ilstu.edu, and ssloew@ilstu.edu. Ebony G. Murrell, Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, E-mail: murrell2@wisc.edu. Jan E. Conn, Wadsworth Center, NYS Department of Health, Albany, NY, E-mail: jconn@wadsworth.org.

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