Aedes koreicus, a vector on the rise: Pan-European genetic patterns, mitochondrial and draft genome sequencing

PLoS One. 2022 Aug 1;17(8):e0269880. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269880. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Background: The mosquito Aedes koreicus (Edwards, 1917) is a recent invader on the European continent that was introduced to several new places since its first detection in 2008. Compared to other exotic Aedes mosquitoes with public health significance that invaded Europe during the last decades, this species' biology, behavior, and dispersal patterns were poorly investigated to date.

Methodology/principal findings: To understand the species' population relationships and dispersal patterns within Europe, a fragment of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI or COX1) gene was sequenced from 130 mosquitoes, collected from five countries where the species has been introduced and/or established. Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing techniques were combined to generate the first complete nuclear and mitochondrial genomic sequences of Ae. koreicus from the European region. The complete genome of Ae. koreicus is 879 Mb. COI haplotype analyses identified five major groups (altogether 31 different haplotypes) and revealed a large-scale dispersal pattern between European Ae. koreicus populations. Continuous admixture of populations from Belgium, Italy, and Hungary was highlighted, additionally, haplotype diversity and clustering indicate a separation of German sequences from other populations, pointing to an independent introduction of Ae. koreicus to Europe. Finally, a genetic expansion signal was identified, suggesting the species might be present in more locations than currently detected.

Conclusions/significance: Our results highlight the importance of genetic research of invasive mosquitoes to understand general dispersal patterns, reveal main dispersal routes and form the baseline of future mitigation actions. The first complete genomic sequence also provides a significant leap in the general understanding of this species, opening the possibility for future genome-related studies, such as the detection of 'Single Nucleotide Polymorphism' markers. Considering its public health importance, it is crucial to further investigate the species' population genetic dynamic, including a larger sampling and additional genomic markers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aedes* / genetics
  • Animals
  • Disease Vectors
  • Europe
  • Genetic Variation
  • Introduced Species
  • Mosquito Vectors / genetics

Grants and funding

Mosquito collections in Hungary were supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH grant numbers KH-130379, FK-138563, PD-135143, and K-135841), mosquito collections in Slovenia were supported by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Slovenian Research Agency (project “Establishment of monitoring of vectors and vector-borne diseases in Slovenia“ V3-1903). Mosquito specimens from Veneto and Friuli Venezia (Italy) were collected within the framework of “Invasive mosquito surveillance” as part of activities of the Regional Prevention Plans entitled “Entomological Surveillance of vector-borne diseases” funded by public Health Department of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia Regions. The work in Belgium is part of the MEMO project, funded by the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels regional governments and the Federal Public Service (FPS) Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment in the context of the National Environment and Health Action Plan (NEHAP) (Belgium) (tender number CES-2016-02). The Outbreak Research Team of the Institute of Tropical Medicine is financially supported by the Department of Economy, Science and Innovation of the Flemish government. K.K. and G.K. were supported by the Janos Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and by the ÚNKP-19-4-PTE-264, ÚNKP-20-5-PTE-597, and the ÚNKP-21-5-PTE-1350 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology. The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern (BopCo: http://bopco.myspecies.info/) is financed by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) as Belgian federal in-kind contribution to the European Research Infrastructure Consortium “LifeWatch”. R. H. was supported by the grants GINOP-2.3.4-15-2020-00010, GINOP-2.3.1-20-2020-00001 and Educating Experts of the Future: Developing Bioinformatics and Biostatistics competencies of European Biomedical Students (BECOMING, 2019–1-HU01-KA203–061251). Bioinformatics infrastructure was supported by ELIXIR Hungary (http://elixir-hungary.org/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.