Genetic and behavioral differences between above and below ground Culex pipiens bioforms.

ABSTRACT: Efficiency of mosquito-borne disease transmission is dependent upon both the preference and fidelity of mosquitoes as they seek the blood of vertebrate hosts. While mosquitoes select their blood hosts through multi-modal integration of sensory cues, host-seeking is primarily an odor-guided behavior. Differences in mosquito responses to hosts and their odors have been demonstrated to have a genetic component, but the underlying genomic architecture of these responses has yet to be fully resolved. Here, we provide the first characterization of the genomic architecture of host preference in the polymorphic mosquito species, Culex pipiens. The species exists as two morphologically identical bioforms, each with distinct avian and mammalian host preferences. Cx. pipiens females with empirically

SUBMITTER: Bell KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11074123 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature