Dispersal patterns and population genetic structure of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in three different climatic regions of China

Abstract

Background Aedes albopictus is an indigenous primary vector for dengue and Zika viruses in China. Compared with its insecticide resistance, biology and vector competence, little is known about its genetic variation, which corresponds to environmental variations. Thus, the present study examines how Ae. albopictus varies among different climatic regions in China and deciphers its potential dispersal patterns. Methods The genetic variation and population structure of 17 Ae. albopictus populations collected from three climatic regions of China were investigated with 11 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial coxI gene. Results Of 44 isolated microsatellite markers, 11 pairs were chosen for genotyping analysis and had an average PIC value of 0.713, representing high polymorphism. The number of alleles was high in each population, with the ne value increasing from the temperate region (3.876) to the tropical region (4.144). Twenty-five coxI haplotypes were detected, and the highest diversity was observed in the tropical region. The mean Ho value (ca. 0.557) of all the regions was significantly lower than the mean He value (ca. 0.684), with nearly all populations significantly departing from HWE and displaying significant population expansion (p value < 0.05). Two genetically isolated groups and three haplotype clades were evaluated via STRUCTURE and haplotype phylogenetic analyses, and the tropical populations were significantly isolated from those in the other regions. Most genetic variation in Ae. albopictus was detected within populations and individuals at 31.40 and 63.04%, respectively, via the AMOVA test, and a relatively significant positive correlation was observed among only the temperate populations via IBD analysis (R2 = 0.6614, p = 0.048). Recent dispersions were observed among different Ae. albopictus populations, and four major migration trends with high gene flow (Nm > 0.4) were reconstructed between the tropical region and the other two regions. Environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic diversity in different climatic regions. Conclusions Continuous dispersion contributes to the genetic communication of Ae. albopictus populations across different climatic regions, and environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic variation. Graphical abstract

Vector Competence for DENV-2 Among Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Populations in China

“…A possible explanation for this result is that they share genetic background. Gao et al (2021) reported that four major migration trends which were observed among the different climatic regions with high gene flow contributed to the similarity of Ae. albopictus populations in China.…”

Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Aedes albopictus in the Yangtze River Basin, China

“…DNA of individual mosquitoes was extracted following the steps provided with a TAKARA DNA kit and stored at −30 °C until analysis. Individuals were genotyped based on variation at nine microsatellite loci [ 31 ]. Approximately 1~2 μL of PCR product was diluted with 10 μL of autoclaved distilled water for DNA.…”

New insights into the genetic structure of the outbreak-prone migratory locust

“…It was reported in other species that climatic variables play an important role in the formation of genetic structure (e.g., Ding et al, 2018). Climate variables affected the genetic structure of Aedes aegypti (Mendonça et al, 2014;Gao et al, 2021), Apis cerana japonica (Nagamitsu et al, 2016), and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Ovčarenko et al, 2014). Thus, seasonality of climatic variables is an important factor affecting genetic structure.…”