Phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the genus Sergentomyia in Marrakech region, Morocco.

We reported the results of an entomological investigation in Marrakech area, in the aim to study the present Sergentomyia species composition. One hundred thirty seven sandflies were collected by sticky papers and they comprised three sub-genera: Parrotomyia (43.1%), Sergentomyia (36.5%), and Grassomyia (20.4%). Four species were identified; Sergentomyia (Parrotomyia) africana Newstead (43.1%) followed by S. (Grassomyia) dreyfussi Parrot, S. (Sergentomyia) fallax Parrot, and S. (S.) minuta Rondani accounted for 20.4%, 19.7%, and 16.8%, respectively. Ecological study subdivides these species into rural species (S. africana and S. dreyfussi) and ubiquitous species (S. minuta and S. fallax) which were collected in both urban and rural areas. Enzymatic analysis identified three monomorphic loci (alphaGPDH, ICD, and ME) and six polymorphic loci (PGI, HK, FUM, MDH2, 6PGD, and ACO) in the four species. At FUM and ACO loci, some alleles appeared to be fixed in each species. Morphological (counts of cibarial teeth) and isoenzymatic analysis of wild populations of S. minuta parroti from Morocco and of S. minuta minuta from continental Europe (France, Spain, and Portugal) was carried out. Morphological results showed significant differences between France and Portugal populations and south Spain populations. In contrast, there was no significant difference between northern and southern Moroccan populations. Genetic variability showed a separation between northern and southern European populations and S. minuta from Andalusia clustered with Moroccan populations.