A multiplex PCR to differentiate the two sibling species of mosquitoes Ochlerotatus detritus and Oc. coluzzii and evidence for further genetic heterogeneity within the Detritus complex

International audience; Internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal DNA were sequenced, and species-specific primerswere designed to simplify the identification of two morphologically similar species of the Detrituscomplex,Ochlerotatus detritusandOchlerotatus coluzzii. Each newly designed primer was able toamplify a species-specific fragment with a different size. Samples from France and Germany were suc-cessfully tested. This new tool prompts for bio-ecological studies to refine basic knowledge on thebionomics of this species complex, towards a better control and prevention of ensuing nuisances.Moreover, ITS2 sequencing revealed the existence of (1) two distinct haplotypes ofOc. detritusthatare sympatric and widely distributed along the French Atlantic and Mediterranean littorals and (2)a specific haplotype in mosquitoes sampled from Tunisia, raising the question of the taxonomic statusof this North-African population.