Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis supports speciation within the Anopheles nili group of malaria vectors in Cameroon.

Multilocus enzyme analysis of the genetic variability and population structure was conducted among three malaria vector species of the Anopheles nili group in Cameroon: An. nili, An. carnevalei, and the recently described An. ovengensis. We detected species-specific alleles and large differences in shared allele frequencies at six of nine loci (e.g., PGM, GOT1, IDH1, IDH2, PGI, and alpha-GPD). This non-random distribution of alleles leads to high and significant values of differentiation indexes (0.569 < Fst < 0.874, P < 10(-4)). These results fully agree with standard morphologic descriptions, and therefore provide further support for recent taxonomic classification within the An. nili group.