Isoenzyme Studies on two Field Populations of Glossina pallidipes Austen (Diptera, Glossinidae) in Kenya

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Abstract
Electrophoretic studies were carried out on isozymes of Glossina pallidipes to determine whether there are any genetic differences between natural populations from an area free of sleeping sickness (Nguruman) and an area where sleeping sickness is endemic (Lambwe Valley) in Kenya. Out of 12 enzymes examined, two enzymes, GPI and PGM, showed high polymorphism in the two populations, while the other 10 enzymes were all monomorphic. At the GPI locus, at least five alleles were detected, and two alleles were found at the PGM locus. There was a difference in the frequency of isozyme patterns between males and females, indicating that the PGM locus is on the sex-linked chromosome (X-chromosome). Nei''s genetic distance (D) was 0.00154 between the two populations, which is the value within the range for local populations in different organisms examined so far. Some difference between the two populations was found in the level of average heterozygosity (H) and in allelic composition of the GPI locus, that is, the Lambwe Valley population is more heterogeneous than the Nguruman population.