Haplotype analysis of aedes albopictus isolated from SS14 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia based on nadh dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene / Mohammad Muslim Mohammad Effendi

Dengue is an infectious disease carried either by Aedes albopictus or Aedes aegypti. Ae. albopictus is responsible for the transmission of dengue virus (DENV) as well as several other arboviruses such as Chikungunya viruses (CHIKV). Since no vaccine is commercially available, vector control remains the most important strategy to prevent an outbreak. Therefore the study of Aedes albopictus at molecular levels is significant to facilitate prevention and control strategies. This current study is utilised the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the ND5 region as a marker to study the genetic diversity at Subang Jaya SS14, Selangor, Malaysia. Ovitraps used to collect Ae. albopictus eggs were placed randomly in the study area and the eggs were reared until adults in the laboratory. Ten individual adult female Aedes albopictus mosquitoes were randomly selected and analysed for polymorphism at the ND5 region. 450 bp of amplified PCR products were obtained and sequenced and subjected to BLAST. Our findings showed high similarities with homologous reference sequences of ND5 reegion derived from the NCBI GenBank. Subsequently, the nucleotide sequences were aligned using ClustalX2.1 software. The haplotype network constructed showed the presence pf 11 haplotypes in the 49 sequences studied including reference sequences from NCBI GenBank. These findings deduced that there is low genetic variation within interpopulation as compared to populations from neighbouring countries. This information may be beneficial to construct the appropriate level of surveillance and control measures needed to prevent the future expansion of this vector and simultaneously reduce the health risks associated with dengue viral transmission.