Variations in cytoplasmic incompatibility properties in Tanzanian populations ofCulex quinquefasciatus

Abstract

Culex quinquefasciatus collected from wild populations in Tanzania were crossed to strains with London cytoplasm. Where the females were Tanzanian there was full cytoplasmic incompatibility. In the reciprocal cross most egg rafts showed incompatibility, but about 5% of the rafts showed moderate to high egg hatch. Thus Tanzanian populations show variability in incompatibility properties of a similar type to that found in Asia and Egypt. This variability would allow ‘leakage’ of Tanzanian genome into London cytoplasm during and after a genetic control operation designed to use incompatibility for replacement of a vector population by a filaria refractory strain.