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We report the first record of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the state of Amapá, northern Brazil. Two female specimens were collected from a Shannon trap in the locality of Ilha de Santana, municipality of Santana, Amapá. The occurrence of the species was confirmed with the installation of ten ovitraps. Aedes albopictus is a species of epidemiological importance for the transmission of arboviruses. Amapá was one of two Brazilian states without any record of this species. RESUMO Relatamos o primeiro registro de Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) no Estado do Amapá, no norte do Brasil. Dois espécimes foram coletados em uma armadilha de Shannon na localidade de “Ilha de Santana”, município de Santana, no Amapá. O registro foi confirmado com a instalação de dez ovitrampas. Aedes albopictus é uma espécie com importância epidemiológica na transmissão de arboviroses. O Amapá era um de dois estados brasileiros sem registro dessa espécie.

Anopheles darlingi is the most anthropophilic mosquito related to Plasmodium infection of malaria, causing significant morbidity and mortality in South America. Pyrethroid chemical has been used to control mosquitos. We analyzed the expression of trypsin-3 and phosrestin II genes implicated to feeding and resistance to insecticides, immune response and sensory antenna mechanisms, respectively, of larvae and adult of A. darlingi, through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We aimed to validate the similarity in nucleotide sequences of A. darlingi RNA sequencing libraries by in silico, and qRT- PCR, owing to their possible effects on the ability to spread disease. The expression of trypsin-3 and phosrestin II was higher in the first and second instar larvae as compared with that in adults. These differentially expressed trypsin-3 and phosrestin II genes do not provide us evidence that both genes participate in pyrethroid resistance. The signaling pathway involving both genes requires further study. Preliminary phylogenetic relationships and the accumulation of mutations analysis in both genes were also compared with trypsin and phosrestin sequences of 15 and 17 other anopheline species, respectively, to obtain a mutational rate of 0.02 on phylogenetic trees. Trypsin gene of A. darlingi and A. albimanus clustered into the same group and was distinct from the species of A. gambiae complex and other anopheline. For phosrestin II, A. darlingi was separated from the remaining species from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Although the groups showed low to moderate support, it is possible to infer that both genes may belong to two evolutionary groups: one presents in the anopheline species of New World and other in the anopheline species of Old World, and be useful for future studies. © 2017 The Authors.

Alencar, Ronildo Baiatone, Barrett, Toby Vincent, Scarpassa, Vera Margarete (2016): Immature stages and larval chaetotaxy of Notofairchildia stenygros (Quate & Alexander) (Diptera: Psychodidae: Bruchomyiinae). Zootaxa 4169 (3): 457-474, DOI: http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4169.3.3

This chapter starts with a brief mention of the Leishmania species and sandflies vectors that occur in the Neotropical region, especially in the Brazilian Amazon. The main focus of this chapter is a review of the taxonomic, biologic and epidemiologic studies conducted in Lutzomyia umbratilis, the main vector of Leishmania guyanensis in the northern region of Brazil. We associated these data with the population genetics studies carried out in this sandfly vector by our research team. The genetic studies were made with six samples of L. umbratilis from the central region of the Brazilian Amazon, using a large fragment (1,181 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA COI gene. Also, another study was conducted in these samples using the DNA barcode region. The results revealed rather high levels of genetic variability for all samples analyzed and a pronounced genetic differentiation between samples from both banks of the Negro and Amazon rivers. The degree of differentiation found may reflect the presence of distinct species within L. umbratilis, suggesting that the Amazon and Negro rivers may be acting as effective barriers, preventing gene flow between populations living on the two sides. These findings have important implications for epidemiology, especially regarding vector competence, which is vital information for surveillance and vector control strategies. Furthermore, this diversification process of L. umbratilis represents an interesting example for speciation studies.

Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) oswaldoi (Peryassú, 1922) s. l., which has been incriminated as a potential human malaria vector in Western Brazilian Amazon, may constitute a cryptic species complex. However, the most recent study with isozymes indicated high similarity among samples from the States of Acre, Amazonas and Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon. In the present study, 45 individuals were sequenced from Sena Madureira (State of Acre), Coari (State of Amazonas), São Miguel (State of Rondônia), and Moju (State of Pará), using the cytochrome oxidase I gene from mitochondrial DNA. Twenty-five haplotypes were identified in the four localities, and no haplotype was shared among them. The lowest haplotype number was detected in the Coari sample. The dendrogram based on maximum parsimony analysis yielded four groups: I) haplotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from Sena Madureira and haplotypes 17 and 18 from São Miguel; II) haplotypes 13 to 16 and 19 to 22 from São Miguel; III) haplotypes 23 to 25 from Moju, and IV) haplotypes 6 to 9 from Sena Madureira and haplotypes 10 to 12 from Coari. The genetic distance (uncorrected p) obtained among the four groups ranged from 0.08 to 5.3%, whereas the highest values (4.97 to 5.3%) were found between groups I (Sena Madureira) and III (Moju). Based on male genitalia identification, it was suggested that group I may be A. oswaldoi s. s. whereas group IV may be A. konderi. Groups II and III could constitute other lineages or species within A. oswaldoi s. l., whose taxonomic status remains to be clarified. These results suggest that additional studies are necessary using samples of A. oswaldoi s. l. from a larger geographic area. ©FUNPEC-RP.

Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-27T11:18:05Z No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2014-05-27T14:44:17Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 2-s2.0-0029955858.pdf: 3311857 bytes, checksum: 3f91bc14c31d58dea51b9c99232bd735 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-27T11:18:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1996-06-01 Four enzymes in six geographic populations, four Brazilian and two Colombian, of Anopheles nuneztovari were studied. There were differences among the most frequent alleles in the EST5, ACON and MDH loci in the populations from Brazil and Colombia. The α-GPD(*)C allele was encountered very frequently in the Palo/Sit population in Colombia and the α-GPD(*)B allele was found to be fixed in most of the Brazilian populations. An additional α-GPD band was found only in Palo/Sit. The considerable genetic differentiation between populations in western Colombia vs. Brazil suggests that a certain degree of reproductive isolation exists between them. Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ciências da Saúde Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Caixa Postal 478, 69011-970 Manaus, AM Universidade Estadual Paulista Campus de São José do Rio Preto, SP Universidad del Valle, San Fernando, Apartado 25360, Cali Universidade Estadual Paulista Campus de São José do Rio Preto, SP