Molecular Characterization ofSpecies and Their Vector Potentials for Haemosporidia Infections in the İzmir Region of Türkiye.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine thespecies distributed across different districts of İzmir province, reveal their molecular characterization, and assess their vector potential for the transmission of avian haemosporidian parasites. METHODS: The study material comprised 800 femalespecimens collected from Bergama, Ödemiş, Kemalpaşa, and Foça districts between May and August 2016. Following morphological identification, specimens from each identified species underwent molecular analyses. Thegene region of genomic DNA isolates from the specimens was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subjected to sequence analyses to reveal their molecular characterization and phylogenetic relationships. Haemosporidian DNA was investigated by nested PCR in the gDNA isolates of head/thorax (HTP) and abdomen pools, constituted from specimens separated by species and location. Molecular characterization of identified parasites was performed using sequence analyses. RESULTS: Morphological identification revealed that(39.4%) and(33.8%) were the most common species in the research areas, followed bysp. (ERU-Izm-Culi1) (9.1%),complex (7.6%),(4.3%),(2.3%),(1.9%), and(1.8%). A total of 175 polymorphic sites were distributed among the COI sequences of the obtained isolates, leading to the detection of 18 different haplotypes. The highest haplotype diversity was observed in,, and. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the characterized haplotypes ofspecies into three major groups.sp. GAGLA05 andTURDUS2 lineages were detected inHTP genomic DNA isolates, providing evidence of this species' vector potential forlineages in the research area. CONCLUSION: This study determined thespecies distributed in the İzmir Region using an integrated morphological and molecular diagnostic approach, providing original data for the molecular epidemiology of these important flies. Furthermore, the results suggest the potential importance ofin the transmission dynamics oflineages.