Effective population size of <it>Anopheles funestus </it>chromosomal forms in Burkina Faso

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As <it>Anopheles funestus </it>is one of the principal Afro-tropical malaria vectors, a more complete understanding of its population structure is desirable. In West and Central Africa, <it>An. funestus </it>population structure is complicated by the coexistence of two assortatively mating chromosomal forms. Effective population size (<it>N</it>_<it>e</it>) is a key parameter in understanding patterns and levels of intraspecific variation, as it reflects the role of genetic drift. Here, <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}was estimated from both chromosomal forms, Kiribina and Folonzo, in Burkina Faso.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Short-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}was estimated by evaluating variation at 16 microsatellite loci across temporal samples collected annually from 2000–2002. Estimates were based on standardized variance in allele frequencies or a maximum likelihood method. Long-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}was estimated from genetic diversity estimates using mtDNA sequences and microsatellites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For both forms, short-term and long-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}estimates were on the order of 10³and 10⁵, respectively. Long-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}estimates were larger when based on loci from chromosome 3R (both inside and outside of inversions) than loci outside of this arm.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}values indicate that <it>An. funestus </it>is not subject to seasonal bottlenecks. Though not statistically different because of large and overlapping confidence intervals, short-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}estimates were consistently smaller for Kiribina than Folonzo, possibly due to exploitation of different breeding sites: permanent for Folonzo and intermittent for Kiribina. The higher long-term <it>N</it>_{<it>e </it>}estimates on 3R, the arm carrying the two inversions mainly responsible for defining the chromosomal forms, give natural selection broader scope and merit further study.</p>

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