Molecular population genetics of the NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) gene in Anopheles minimus

Development of insecticide resistance (IR) in mosquito vectors is a primary huddle to malaria control program. Since IR has genetic basis, and genes constantly evolve with response to environment for adaptation to organisms, it is important to know evolutionary pattern of genes conferring IR in malaria vectors. The mosquito Anopheles minimus is a major malaria vector of the Southeast (SE) Asia and India and is susceptible to all insecticides, and thus of interest to know if natural selection has shaped variations in the gene conferring IR. If not, the DNA fragment of such a gene could be used to infer population structure and demography of this species of malaria vector. We have therefore sequenced a ~569 bp DNA segment of the NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) gene (widely known to confer IR) in 123 individuals of An. minimus collected in 10 different locations (eight Indian, one Thai and one Vietnamese). Two Indian population samples were completely mono-morphic in the CPR gene. In general, low genetic diversity was found with no evidence of natural selection in this gene. The data were therefore analyzed to infer population structure and demography of this species. The 10 populations could be genetically differentiated into four different groups; the samples from Thailand and Vietnam contained high nucleotide diversity. All the 10 populations conform to demographic equilibrium model with signature of past population expansion in four populations. The results in general indicate that the An. minimus mosquitoes sampled in the two SE Asian localities contain several genetic characteristics of being parts of the ancestral population.