VARIATION IN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA OF AEDES SPECIES (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE)

Relationships among seven species of the Aedes scutellaris subgroup and four of the Aedes albopictus subgroup were determined using restriction fragment analysis of mtDNA. Considerable polymorphism was found among species, with an average proportion of 0.338 restriction fragments being shared among them. Fitch-Margoliash, Wagner parsimony and UPGMA analyses revealed that the phylogeny based on mtDNA was only partially congruent with that based on allozymes and morphology. All three analyses, however, suggested that three species pairs, A. flavopictus-A. pseudalbopictus, A. pseudoscutellaris-A. riversi, and A. albopictus-A. polynesiensis were monophyletic with regard to their mtDNA. The results indicated that although the species in the A. scutellaris and the A. albopictus subgroups do not exhibit significant morphological divergence, their mtDNA has diverged extensively.