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Molecular identification of Wolbachia strains infecting An. stephensi in the southern Iranian province of Fars

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Abstract

An. stephensi is one of the most important vectors of malaria in Iran. Wolbachia in malaria vectors can cause cytoplasmic incompatibility, which can be an important potential for biological control. This study aimed to screen Wolbachia infection in An. stephensi mosquitoes in Fars, Iran. Adult female mosquitoes were collected using aspirators from two regions of Fars province. The An.stephensi was identified using pictorial keys and the CO1 method. DNA was extracted and PCR assays were conducted using Wolbachia surface proteins (WSP) gene-specific primer. A total of 20 pool mosquitoes were prepared and molecularly evaluated. Out of a total of 410 mosquitoes caught, 200 mosquitoes were examined in 20 pools. The results were shown that 7(35%) pools of mosquitoes were infected with Wolbachia. 3(15%) of them were related to Shiraz and 4 (20%) to Firouzabad. The current study was shown that 57.2% of male pools and 42.8% of female pools were infected. BLAST analysis and phylogeny tree show that An. Stephensi were infected with supergroup B of Wolbachia. The results of the sequence of Shiraz and Firouzabad samples were blasted and showed that they had 96.63% identity with other samples registered in the gene bank. Examination of the phylogenetic tree showed that Wolbachia Supergroup A and Wolbachia Supergroup B strains from separate clusters based on WSP genes in different species of mosquitoes. The natural prevalence of Wolbachia infection among Culicidae mosquitoes in Fars province has not been established and researchers need to do more research on this issue. More information on Wolbachia in the region is needed to plan for the control of vector-borne diseases.

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Data availability

All data is stored at the Department of Biology and control of vector diseases and with Dr Hamzeh Alipour. available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support from the Vice-Chancellery for Research and Technology Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences with grant No. 98-01-04-19503 and grant 25148 with ethical code: IR.SUMS.REC.1400.879

Funding

Vice-Chancellery for Research and Technology Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences with grant No. 98–01-04–19503 and grant 25148 with ethical code: IR.SUMS.REC.1400.879.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Research Committee, Department of Biology and Control of Disease Vectors, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Marziae Shahriari-Namadi & Zahra-Sadat hosseinizadeh

  2. Department of Biology and Control of Disease Vectors, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Marziae Shahriari-Namadi, Zahra-Sadat hosseinizadeh, Leila Izadpanah & Hamzeh Alipour

  3. Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Hamzeh Alipour

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  1. Marziae Shahriari-Namadi
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Hamzeh Alipour and Marziae Shahriari-Namadi conceived of the present idea. Zahra-Sadat hosseinizadeh and Leila Izadpanah carried out the experiment. Marziae Shahriari-Namadi wrote the manuscript with support from Hamzeh Alipour. Hamzeh Alipour planned to supervise the fndings of this work.

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Correspondence to Hamzeh Alipour.

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The author Hamzeh Alipour has received scholarship from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS).

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Shahriari-Namadi, M., hosseinizadeh, ZS., Izadpanah, L. et al. Molecular identification of Wolbachia strains infecting An. stephensi in the southern Iranian province of Fars. Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 637–644 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-00981-0

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