Polymerase chain reaction assay identifies Culex nigripalpus:: Part of an assay for molecular identification of the common Culex (Culex) mosquitoes of the eastern United States

Nucleotide sequence information on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and ITS 2 regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA multigene family was used to develop a polymerase chain reaction assay that identifies Culex nigripalpus Theobald. The assay uses species-specific forward and reverse primers for Cx. nigripalpus and can be used along with previously described primers to distinguish among 4 common taxa of Culex (Culex) of the eastern USA with a single thermal cycler program. The assay distinguishes among the 4 taxa Cx. nigripalpus, Cx. restuans Theobald, Cx. salinarius Coquillett, and members of the Cx. pipiens Linnaeus complex. This assay may be used to verify the morphological identification of individual specimens of Culex or to confirm the species composition of mosquito pools.