Isoenzymes detect variation in populations of Triatoma brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)

Triatoma brasiliensis is one of the most important vectors of Chagas disease in the semiarid zone Of the northeast of Brazil. Intraspecific morphological and behavioural variation has been reported for different populations. Results for four distinct populations using eight isoenzymes are reported here. The literature describes three subspecies. T. brasiliensis brasiliensis Neiva, 1911; T. brasiliensis melanica Neiva & Lent, 1941 and T. brasiliensis macromelasoma Galvao, 1956. These subspecies differ mainly in their cuticle colour pattern and were regarded as synonyms by Lent and Wygodzinsky (1979). In order to evaluate whether the chromatic pattern is a morphological variation of different melanic forms within T. brasiliensis oi doe to interspecific variation, field collections were performed in localities where these thr-ee subspecies hate been described: Caico (Rio Grande do Norte), the type-locality for T. b. brasiliensis; Petrolina (Pernambuco) for T. b. macromelasoma and Espinosa (Minas Gerais) for T. b. melanica. A fourth distinct chromatic pattern was found in Juazeiro (Bahia). A total of nine loci were studied. Values of Nei's genetic distance (D) were calculated. T. b. brasiliensis and T. b. macromelasoma are the closest populations with a D=0.295. T.b. melanica had a D greater than or equal to 0.537 when compared to the others, a distance in the range of interspecific variation for other triatomine species.