PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF AEDES AEGYPTI IN TAIF AND JEDDAH GOVERNORATES, SAUDI ARABIA.

With their diverse species, mosquitoes are known to transmit the causal agents of diseases such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever. Their high adaptability, attraction to humans, and variable adult behaviors make them a significant health concern. The focus on Aedes aegypti is significant for reducing vector-human contacts, monitoring insecticide resistance, and developing innovative vector management strategies. Given the scarcity of studies on Ae. aegypti in the western region of Saudi Arabia, this research is a significant step forward. The study aims to analyze the genetic variations and conduct a phylogenetic study of forty Ae. aegypti samples collected from Taif and Jeddah governorates of Saudi Arabia. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) locus was targeted for genetic variance and phylogenetic analysis. Sequences of COI of Ae. aegypti isolates were submitted to the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Genbank and compared with other global Aedes species isolates. The phylogenetic analysis shows that Ae. aegypti samples from Jeddah have identities ranging from 96.9% to 99.8%, closely related to the Peru (MN299016) and Cambodia (MN299014) isolates. Taif isolates have genetic similarities ranging from 97.5% to 99.8%, closely related to the Germany (KY022526) isolate. Sequence alignment and pairwise comparison show variation among the populations of Ae. aegypti from Taif and Jeddah regions (74.24-98.84%) with a genetic divergence distance of 0.008-0.12. In comparison, ranges slightly change with other Ae. aegypti (79.92-95.96%, 0.008-0.01) as well as Ae. albopictus populations (74.13-83.58%, 0.13-0.20) found in the Genbank database. According to our findings, the present study provides information for a local variation of Ae. aegypti in the western region of Saudi Arabia that could help in disease mapping and risk mitigation, thereby enhancing our ability to manage disease vectors effectively.