Data from: Population structure of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans in an urban environment

Chagas disease is a vector-borne disease endemic in Latin America.
Triatoma infestans, a common vector of this disease, has recently expanded
its range into rapidly developing cities of Latin America. We aim to
identify the environmental features that affect the colonization and
dispersal of T. infestans in an urban environment. We amplified 13
commonly used microsatellites from 180 T. infestans samples collected from
a sampled transect in the city of Arequipa, Peru, in 2007 and 2011. We
assessed the clustering of subpopulations and the effect of distance,
sampling year, and city block location on genetic distance among pairs of
insects. Despite evidence of genetic similarity, the majority of city
blocks are characterized by one dominant insect genotype, suggesting the
existence of barriers to dispersal. Our analyses show that streets
represent an important barrier to the colonization and dispersion of T.
infestans in Arequipa. The genetic data describe a T. infestans
infestation history characterized by persistent local dispersal and
occasional long-distance migration events that partially parallels the
history of urban development.