Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the mosquito Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera : Culicidae)

The mosquito Anopheles stephensi is an important malaria vector in India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Differences in egg morphology and chromosomal characters have been described between urban and rural forms of this mosquito but the population genetic structure remains unclear. In India this species is mainly urban, rural populations are largely zoophilic and not thought to transmit malaria. In eastern Afghanistan and the Punjab and Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan, it is the major malaria vector. We have developed primers for 16 microsatellite loci to assist in defining the population structure and epidemiological importance of this mosquito.