Two colonies of Aedes aegypti were established from two independent collections from Vero Beach, Florida. Eleven sequential generations of the first colony were tested for variation in oral susceptibility to infection with yellow fever virus (YFV). Each generation was also assayed for genetic variability at seven enzyme loci using electrophoretic techniques. Significant differences in infection rates were detected between some generations. These differences were significantly correlated with genetic variation at the malate dehydrogenase locus. Seven generations from the second colony were examined simultaneously for variation in susceptibility to YFV. Significant differences were also detected between some of these generations. The results suggest that colonization may have an effect on the genetic and phenotypic variation in a mosquito strain, and that genetically based variation for susceptibility to infection with YFV occurs in populations of Ae. aegypti.

No abstract