Academic Journal
Genetic diversity and population structure of visceral leishmaniasis vector sandflies in China.
| Τίτλος: | Genetic diversity and population structure of visceral leishmaniasis vector sandflies in China. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Li Z; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: lizq@nipd.chinacdc.cn., Wei Z; Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: weizixin@scdc.sh.cn., Zhou Z; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: zhouzb@nipd.chinacdc.cn., Liu Q; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: liuqin@nipd.chinacdc.cn., Chen J; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China; School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: chenjh@nipd.chinacdc.cn., Zhang Y; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China; School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: zhangyi@nipd.chinacdc.cn., Li S; National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China; School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: lisz@chinacdc.cn. |
| Πηγή: | Acta tropica [Acta Trop] 2026 Oct; Vol. 282, pp. 108287. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 18. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0370374 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6254 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0001706X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Acta Trop Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Amsterdam : Elsevier Original Publication: Basel. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Psychodidae*/genetics , Psychodidae*/classification , Phlebotomus*/genetics , Phlebotomus*/classification , Insect Vectors*/genetics , Insect Vectors*/classification , Genetic Variation*, China/epidemiology ; Cytochromes b/genetics ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral/transmission ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/chemistry ; Animals ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Gene Flow ; Phylogeny ; Haplotypes ; Cluster Analysis ; Molecular Sequence Data |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has re-emerged in several regions of China, particularly in mountain-type zoonotic foci. Its major vectors, Phlebotomus chinensis, Phlebotomus longiductus, and Phlebotomus wui, may shape regional transmission risk through differences in population structure and dispersal. However, their large-scale genetic connectivity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess their mitochondrial genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow across VL-endemic regions of China. Methods: We analyzed mitochondrial genetic diversity and population structure of sandflies collected from eight VL-endemic sites across six provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes were obtained, yielding 226 COI and 222 cytb high-quality sequences. Haplotype diversity, phylogenetic relationships, population differentiation, gene flow, and isolation-by-distance were assessed using haplotype networks, FST/Nm estimation, AMOVA, and Mantel tests. Results: Both markers showed high genetic polymorphism and pronounced population structuring. Haplotype networks revealed two distinct mitochondrial lineage clusters that were not strictly associated with geographic distance, suggesting historical lineage differentiation. Populations from Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi showed high gene flow, whereas those from the Chuanbei-Longnan and northwestern regions exhibited strong genetic differentiation and limited connectivity. AMOVA showed that most genetic variation occurred within populations, and Mantel tests indicated significant isolation-by-distance. Conclusions: These findings reveal marked spatial heterogeneity in sandfly genetic structure across VL-endemic regions in China, suggesting region-specific dispersal potential and transmission risk. This study provides a genetic basis for targeted vector surveillance and control strategies. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest This manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors have read and approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to Acta Tropica. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to this work. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: COI; Genetic variation; Phlebotomus; Population structure; cytb |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 9035-37-4 (Cytochromes b) EC 1.9.3.1 (Electron Transport Complex IV) 0 (DNA, Mitochondrial) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260818 Date Completed: 20260917 Latest Revision: 20260917 |
| Update Code: | 20260918 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.actatropica.2026.108287 |
| PMID: | 42612741 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-6254 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.actatropica.2026.108287 |