Population Structure of the Invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito, <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, in Europe

The Asian tiger mosquito, <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, is currently the most widespread invasive mosquito species in the world. It poses a significant threat to human health, as it is a vector for several arboviruses. We used a SNP chip to genotype 748 <i>Ae. albopictus</i> mosquitoes from 41 localities across Europe, 28 localities in the native range in Asia, and 4 in the Americas. Using multiple algorithms, we examined population genetic structure and differentiation within Europe and across our global dataset to gain insight into the origin of the invasive European populations. We also compared results from our SNP data to those obtained using genotypes from 11 microsatellite loci (<i>N</i> = 637 mosquitoes from 25 European localities) to explore how sampling effort and the type of genetic marker used may influence conclusions about <i>Ae. albopictus</i> population structure. While some analyses detected more than 20 clusters worldwide, we found mosquitoes could be grouped into 7 distinct genetic clusters, with most European populations originating in East Asia (Japan or China). Interestingly, some populations in Eastern Europe did not share genetic ancestry with any populations from the native range or Americas, indicating that these populations originated from areas not sampled in this study. The SNP and microsatellite datasets found similar patterns of genetic differentiation in Europe, but the microsatellite dataset could not detect the more subtle genetic structure revealed using SNPs. Overall, data from the SNP chip offered a higher resolution for detecting the genetic structure and the potential origins of invasions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Ecology and Evolution
Published
2025-03-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71009
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.76

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Population Structure of the Invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Europe

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Ecology and Evolution
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Population Structure of the Invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in Europe

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article en
2 citations

Abstract

The Asian tiger mosquito, <i>Aedes albopictus</i>, is currently the most widespread invasive mosquito species in the world. It poses a significant threat to human health, as it is a vector for several arboviruses. We used a SNP chip to genotype 748 <i>Ae. albopictus</i> mosquitoes from 41 localities across Europe, 28 localities in the native range in Asia, and 4 in the Americas. Using multiple algorithms, we examined population genetic structure and differentiation within Europe and across our global dataset to gain insight into the origin of the invasive European populations. We also compared results from our SNP data to those obtained using genotypes from 11 microsatellite loci (<i>N</i> = 637 mosquitoes from 25 European localities) to explore how sampling effort and the type of genetic marker used may influence conclusions about <i>Ae. albopictus</i> population structure. While some analyses detected more than 20 clusters worldwide, we found mosquitoes could be grouped into 7 distinct genetic clusters, with most European populations originating in East Asia (Japan or China). Interestingly, some populations in Eastern Europe did not share genetic ancestry with any populations from the native range or Americas, indicating that these populations originated from areas not sampled in this study. The SNP and microsatellite datasets found similar patterns of genetic differentiation in Europe, but the microsatellite dataset could not detect the more subtle genetic structure revealed using SNPs. Overall, data from the SNP chip offered a higher resolution for detecting the genetic structure and the potential origins of invasions.

Ecology and EvolutionVol. 15(3)
University of California, Riverside (US), University of Medicine Tirana (AL), The Pirbright Institute (GB), Russian Academy of Sciences (RU), Universitat de València (ES), The University of Queensland (AU), National Health Research Institutes (TW), University of Groningen (NL), University of Novi Sad (RS), Bauman Moscow State Technical University (RU), Georgetown University (US), University of Jaffna (LK), Université de Montpellier (FR), University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (RO), Institut Pasteur in Ho Chi Minh City (VN), Yale University (US), Institute of Public Health (AL), Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle (FR), Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (ES), Instituto de Medicina Tropical (PY), Enzo Life Sciences (United States) (US), Federal State University of Education (RU), Rowley Regis Hospital (GB), Schaffner (Switzerland) (CH), Benaki Phytopathological Institute (GR), Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology (US), Ministry for Health (MT), Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (KH), Centro Agricoltura Ambiente (Italy) (IT), Schwery Consulting (Switzerland) (CH), Vavilov Institute of General Genetics (RU), National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (BG), Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (PT), Imperial College London (GB), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR), Ahmedabad University (IN), University of Córdoba (ES), Universidad de Murcia (ES), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT), Virginia Tech (US), Sapienza University of Rome (IT), Hasanuddin University (ID)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Yale University, Région Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée, National Institutes of Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
3.76
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