Phylogeography and demographic history of Thai Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Pediculus humanus (human louse) is a hematophagous insect that feeds on human blood. It is distributed worldwide. Understanding phylogeography and population-genetic structure of the human louse will illuminate the evolution of this insect and the dynamics of how resistance alleles might spread in the landscape. In this work, we used mitochondrial (cox 1 and cytb genes) sequences of the human louse to investigate genetic diversity, population-genetic structure and demographic history of the louse in Thailand. Human lice in Thailand belonged to mitochondrial clades A and C. Most genetic variation was attributed to intra-region 65.71% within provinces for clade A and 68.92% for clade C, while inter-region level was 34.40% among provinces within regions for clade A and 20.09% for clade C. Neutrality and other indices suggested that louse populations from clades A and C in Thailand have experienced a population expansion. But head lice from Khon Kaen Province in clade C demonstrated a significant recent population bottleneck or natural selective pressure with constant population size. Head lice in Thailand showed varying degrees of low to high genetic differentiation at the level of province with many populations being genetically distinct from each other among regions and within the same region. Knowledge of the clades present in Thailand and that gene flow occurs between regions will assist in developing appropriate strategies for management of head lice at the local level in the country. [Display omitted] • We identified clades of human lice in Thailand using cox 1 and cytb genes. • Head lice in Thailand belong to clades A and C. • Genetic variation was 65.71% within provinces for clade A and 68.92% for clade C. • A sudden increase in population sizes was apparent. • Genetic differentiation of lice in Thailand was high at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]