PONE-D-21-08154

Intragenomic sequence variations in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) ribosomal DNA of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Singh,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please address all the comments from both reviewers. Discuss possible genomic reasons for the presence of intragenomic variation in rDNA. Can it be due to the presence of more than one copy of rDNA cluster in the genome of An. stephensi? For example, se the paper that shows the presence of the rDNA loci on both X and Y chromosomes, which may have different evolutionary trajectories. PMID: 25244985, PMCID: PMC4195908, DOI: 10.1186/s13059-014-0459-2

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Igor V. Sharakhov

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: 1-The manuscript is well written; however, it is unclear whether samples collected from different locations represent mysorensis, type or intermediate forms.

2-It is mentioned in the manuscript that "28S rDNA sequence can serve as molecular markers due to absence of obvious interagenomic variations", however, absence of interagenomic variations in 28S rDNA sequences are not shown in any figures.

3-Line 159: Please correct the Accession number.

Also, correct the last two Accession numbers in Supplementary information S1 (Annotation Features of GenBank entries).

Reviewer #2: Other molecular markers such as OBP1, COI, COII has been used for molecular identification of An. stephensi. The authors must explain why ITS2 and 28S rDNA were chosen, while OBP1 is one the most appropriate choice. I suggest to reflect this in the Introduction and Discussion sections.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Intragenomic sequence variations in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) ribosomal DNA of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi

PONE-D-21-08154R1

Dear Dr. Singh,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Igor V. Sharakhov

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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