Background: Malaria is a global health problem and is transmitted by the Anopheles species. Due to the epidemiological importance of the genus, studies on biological, phylogenetic, and evolutionary aspects have contributed to the understanding of adaptation, vector capacity, and resistance to insecticides. The latter may result from different causes such as mutations in the gene that encodes the sodium channel (NaV).
Methods: In this study, the NaV subunit I scaffold of 17 anopheline species was used to infer phylogenetic relationships of the genus Anopheles using Bayesian inference. The evolutionary phylogenetic tree of the NaV gene was aligned in the AliView program and analyzed utilizing Bayesian inference, using the software MrBayes.
Results: The anophelines were grouped into five well-supported clusters: 1 - Anopheles darlingi and Anopheles albimanus; 2 - Anopheles sinensis and Anopheles atroparvus; 3 - Anopheles dirus; 4 - Anopheles minimus, Anopheles culicifacies, Anopheles funestus, Anopheles maculatus, and Anopheles stephensi; and 5 - Anopheles christyi, Anopheles epiroticus, Anopheles merus, Anopheles melas, Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles coluzzii, and Anopheles arabiensis.
Conclusions: The topology confirms the phylogenetic relationships proposed in studies based on the genome of some anophelines and reflects the current taxonomy of the genus, which suggests that NaV undergoes selection pressure during the evolution of the species. These data are useful tools for inferring their ability to resist insecticides and also help in better understanding the evolutionary processes of the genus Anopheles.