Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I variation in Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus): Determination of the different and multiple introduction situations in Turkiye

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1894) is an invasive mosquito species that can transmit many arboviral diseases. In Turkiye, this species was found first in Thrace in 2011, then in the Eastern Black Sea in 2014, and in the Aegean regions in 2018. We analyzed the COI gene region of 554 samples from 13 different locations in the Black Sea, Aegean, and Marmara regions to determine the COI diversity and possible introduction origin of A. albopictus in Türkiye. Three haplotypes derived from two segregation sites were detected, and the Hd and π values were 0.175 and 0.00029, respectively. Hap_1 was a common haplotype and was detected in all regions. Hap_2 was detected in the Black Sea and Marmara regions, while Hap_3 was rare, and recorded only in Aegean lineages. In pairwise FSTs of 13 geographical populations, the Marmara lineages were statistically different from the Black Sea and Aegean lineages (except the Mugla samples). AMOVA test results indicated significant differences between the three studied regions (df = 2, f = 0.01784). Although Turkish Aedes albopictus lineages appear to have originated from temperate Northern Italy lineages and Aegean lineages may have originated from a mix of Italy and Albania lineages, the results revealed multiple introduction events via various routes.