TY - JOUR
T1 - Geographic distribution of the V1016G knockdown resistance mutation in Aedes albopictus
T2 - a warning bell for Europe
AU - Pichler, Verena
AU - Caputo, Beniamino
AU - Valadas, Vera
AU - Micocci, Martina
AU - Horvath, Cintia
AU - Virgillito, Chiara
AU - Akiner, Mustafa
AU - Balatsos, Georgios
AU - Bender, Christelle
AU - Besnard, Gilles
AU - Bravo-Barriga, Daniel
AU - Bueno-Mari, Rubén
AU - Collantes, Francisco
AU - Delacour-Estrella, Sarah
AU - Dikolli, Enkelejda
AU - Falcuta, Elena
AU - Flacio, Eleonora
AU - García-Pérez, Ana L.
AU - Kalan, Katja
AU - Kavran, Mihaela
AU - L’Ambert, Gregory
AU - Lia, Riccardo P.
AU - Marabuto, Eduardo
AU - Medialdea, Raquel
AU - Melero-Alcibar, Rosario
AU - Michaelakis, Antonios
AU - Mihalca, Andrei
AU - Mikov, Ognyan
AU - Miranda, Miguel A.
AU - Müller, Pie
AU - Otranto, Domenico
AU - Pajovic, Igor
AU - Petric, Dusan
AU - Rebelo, Maria Teresa
AU - Robert, Vincent
AU - Rogozi, Elton
AU - Tello, Ana
AU - Zitko, Toni
AU - Schaffner, Francis
AU - Pinto, Joao
AU - della Torre, Alessandra
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper was produced in the framework of the COST Action Aedes Invasive Mosquitoes (CA17108; http://www.aedescost.eu ) supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) www.cost.eu .
Funding Information:
This work received financial support from: national funds through MUR-PRIN2020 to AdT; FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the framework of the project ARBOMONITOR (PTDC/BIA-OUT/29477/2017) and CESAM by FCT/MCTES (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020) a regional Spanish research project (Grant Number IB16135) to DBB; the Greece—LIFE CONOPS project (LIFE12 ENV/GR/000466), co-founded by the EU Environmental Funding Programme LIFE + Environment Policy and Governance. The founding sponsors had no role in the writing, preparation or submission of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: Colonization of large part of Europe by the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is causing autochthonous transmission of chikungunya and dengue exotic arboviruses. While pyrethroids are recommended only to reduce/limit transmission, they are widely implemented to reduce biting nuisance and to control agricultural pests, increasing the risk of insurgence of resistance mechanisms. Worryingly, pyrethroid resistance (with mortality < 70%) was recently reported in Ae. albopictus populations from Italy and Spain and associated with the V1016G point mutation in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene conferring knockdown resistance (kdr). Genotyping pyrethroid resistance-associated kdr mutations in field mosquito samples represents a powerful approach to detect early signs of resistance without the need for carrying out phenotypic bioassays which require availability of live mosquitoes, dedicated facilities and appropriate expertise. Methods: Here we report results on the PCR-genotyping of the V1016G mutation in 2530 Ae. albopictus specimens from 69 sampling sites in 19 European countries. Results: The mutation was identified in 12 sites from nine countries (with allele frequencies ranging from 1 to 8%), mostly distributed in two geographical clusters. The western cluster includes Mediterranean coastal sites from Italy, France and Malta as well as single sites from both Spain and Switzerland. The eastern cluster includes sites on both sides of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia as well as one site from Romania. These results are consistent with genomic data showing high connectivity and close genetic relationship among West European populations and a major barrier to gene flow between West European and Balkan populations. Conclusions: The results of this first effort to map kdr mutations in Ae. albopictus on a continental scale show a widespread presence of the V1016G allele in Europe, although at lower frequencies than those previously reported from Italy. This represents a wake-up call for mosquito surveillance programs in Europe to include PCR-genotyping of pyrethroid resistance alleles, as well as phenotypic resistance assessments, in their routine activities. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
AB - Background: Colonization of large part of Europe by the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is causing autochthonous transmission of chikungunya and dengue exotic arboviruses. While pyrethroids are recommended only to reduce/limit transmission, they are widely implemented to reduce biting nuisance and to control agricultural pests, increasing the risk of insurgence of resistance mechanisms. Worryingly, pyrethroid resistance (with mortality < 70%) was recently reported in Ae. albopictus populations from Italy and Spain and associated with the V1016G point mutation in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene conferring knockdown resistance (kdr). Genotyping pyrethroid resistance-associated kdr mutations in field mosquito samples represents a powerful approach to detect early signs of resistance without the need for carrying out phenotypic bioassays which require availability of live mosquitoes, dedicated facilities and appropriate expertise. Methods: Here we report results on the PCR-genotyping of the V1016G mutation in 2530 Ae. albopictus specimens from 69 sampling sites in 19 European countries. Results: The mutation was identified in 12 sites from nine countries (with allele frequencies ranging from 1 to 8%), mostly distributed in two geographical clusters. The western cluster includes Mediterranean coastal sites from Italy, France and Malta as well as single sites from both Spain and Switzerland. The eastern cluster includes sites on both sides of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia as well as one site from Romania. These results are consistent with genomic data showing high connectivity and close genetic relationship among West European populations and a major barrier to gene flow between West European and Balkan populations. Conclusions: The results of this first effort to map kdr mutations in Ae. albopictus on a continental scale show a widespread presence of the V1016G allele in Europe, although at lower frequencies than those previously reported from Italy. This represents a wake-up call for mosquito surveillance programs in Europe to include PCR-genotyping of pyrethroid resistance alleles, as well as phenotypic resistance assessments, in their routine activities. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
KW - Aedes albopictus
KW - Arbovirus vector
KW - Europe
KW - Insecticide resistance
KW - Integrated vector management
KW - Kdr
KW - Mosquito
KW - Vector control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135472444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13071-022-05407-3
DO - 10.1186/s13071-022-05407-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 35932088
AN - SCOPUS:85135472444
SN - 1756-3305
VL - 15
JO - Parasites & Vectors
JF - Parasites & Vectors
IS - 1
M1 - 280
ER -