Species-specific primers for the detection of lymphatic filariasis vectors: Mansonia bonneae and Mansonia dives

Lymphatic filariasis remains a public health problem in some areas of Thailand and Southeast Asia. The nocturnally subperiodic and periodic form of brugian filariasis is transmitted by the Mansonia species. It is difficult to distinguish especially wild caught specimens between certain species due to morphological similarities. In the present study, species-specific primers were designed for amplification of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) markers to simplify the identification of two morphologically similar species: Ma. bonneae and Ma. dives by PCR detection method. The primer specificity was checked against associated Mansonia species as well as other species of mosquitoes. It was found that the developed species-specific primer sets have proved to be effective for reliable identifying the two morphologically similar species of Mansonia. We therefore recommend to use these primer sets as a tool for epidemiological investigations on lymphatic filariasis.