Genetic structure of deltamethrin-resistant populations of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in the Gran Chaco
Estrutura genética de populações de Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) resistentes à deltametrina no Gran Chaco
SpringerLink; 119 (), 2020
Publication year: 2020
The genetic structure of natural populations offers insight into the complexities of their dynamics, information that can be
relevant to vector control strategies. Microsatellites are useful neutral markers to investigate the genetic structure and gene flow
in Triatoma infestans, one of the main vectors of Chagas disease in South America. Recently, a heterogeneous pyrethroidresistant hotspot was found in the Argentine Gran Chaco, characterized by the highest levels of deltamethrin resistance found at
the present time. We applied population genetics analyses to microsatellite and village data and search for associations between
the genetic variability and the heterogeneous toxicological pattern previously found. We genotyped 10 microsatellite loci in 67
T. infestans from 6 villages with no, low, and high pyrethroid resistance. The most genetically diverse populations were those
susceptible or with low values of resistance. In contrast, high-resistance populations had lower herozygosity and some monomorphic loci. A negative association was found between variability and resistant ratios. Global and pairwise FSTs indicated
significant differentiation between populations. The only susceptible population was discriminated in all the performed studies.
Low-resistance populations were also differentiated by a discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and were
composed mostly by the same two genetic clusters according to STRUCTURE Bayesian algorithm. Individuals from the
high-resistance populations were overlapped in the DAPC and shared significant proportions of a genetic cluster. These observations suggest that the resistant populations might have a common origin, although more genetic markers and samples are
required to test this hypothesis more rigorously.