Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) of mitochondrial genes helps to estimate genetic differentiation, demographic parameters and phylogeny of Glossina palpalis palpalis populations from West and Central Africa.

We examined genetic variation at three mitochondrial loci: COI, COII-TLII, and 16S2. 34 haplotypes were found, of which 30 were rare, since each was present in <5% of the total number of individuals. No haplotype was shared among Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo populations. The fixation index FST of 0.88 showed a high genetic distance between Glossina palpalis palpalis populations from the three countries. That genetic distance was correlated to the geographic distance between populations. We also found that there is substantial gene flow between flies from locations separated by over 100 km in Cameroon and between flies from locations separated by over 200 km in Ivory Coast. Demographic parameters suggest that the tsetse flies from Fontem (Cameroon) had reduced in population size in the recent past. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that Glossina palpalis palpalis originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are genetically divergent from the two other countries as already published in previous studies. PMID: 32247869 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Infect Genet Evol Source Type: research