Microsatellite Isolation and Linkage Group Identification in the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Microsatellites have proved to be very useful as genetic markers, as they seem to be ubiquitous and randomly distributed throughout most eukaryote genomes. However, our laboratories and others have determined that this paradigm does not necessarily apply to the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. We report the isolation and identification of microsatellite sequences from multiple genomic libraries for A. aegypti. We identified 6 single-copy simple microsatellites from 3 plasmid libraries enriched for (GA)(n), (AAT)(n), and (TAGA)(n) motifs from A. aegypti. In addition, we identified 5 single-copy microsatellites from an A. aegypti cosmid library. Genetic map positions were determined for 8 microsatellite loci. These markers greatly increase the number of microsatellite markers available for A. aegypti and provide additional tools for studying genetic variability of mosquito populations. Additionally, most A. aegypti microsatellites are closely associated with repetitive elements that likely accounts for the limited success in developing an extensive panel of microsatellite marker loci.

Genetic variability and heterogeneity of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus vector Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) populations of the Colombian Atlantic coast, based on microsatellite loci

“…However, it cannot be unequivocally discarded that the primers that were not amplified are not present in this species since some other variables in the flanking region could eventually affect the correct amplification . Nevertheless, it is necessary to point out that the frequencies and types of microsatellites may vary widely in many species of arthropods (Chambers et al, 2007); for example, these markers have been found to be limited and insufficient in Culicinae mosquitoes, as detected in A. aegypti (Huber et al, 1999;Fagerberg et al, 2001), Culex pipiens (Keyghobadi et al, 2004;Smith et al, 2005), and C. pipiens quinquefasciatus (Fonseca et al, 1998). Based on this reasoning, it is probable that the loci that were not amplified in this study are not definitively present in O. taeniorhynchus.…”

“…Microsatellites have been used as genetic markers in studies on a wide range of insect disease vectors (Chambers et al, 2007). Particularly in mosquitoes, they have been extensively applied to different species of the genus Anopheles, for conducting population genetic studies (Ayala et al, 2006).…”

“…Nevertheless, little research has been carried out with these markers in species of mosquitoes belonging to the subfamily Culicinae, except for various population genetic investigations carried out during the last years on the mosquito A. aegypti. However, a limited number of microsatellite loci have been used in this species (Chambers et al, 2007).…”

Evidence of Polyandry for Aedes aegypti in Semifield Enclosures

“…28 Use of genetic markers for determining paternity in Ae. aegypti has been more challenging because of the low abundance of microsatellites 29 and the presence of multilocus microsatellite families linked with transposable elements, 30 although some microsatellite markers have been identified. 29,31 Genetic markers are currently being used in at least one study to examine polyandry in field-collected Ae.…”

Caracterização molecular e morfológica de populações de <i>Aedes aegypti</i> (Diptera:Culicidae) no estado de São Paulo.

“…Para a espécie Ae. aegypti, diversos trabalhos já foram publicados isolando marcadores SSRs altamente polimórficos (Brown et al, 2011;Chambers et al, 2007;Huber et al, 2001;Slotman et al, 2006) o que facilita a utilização desses marcadores para estudo de populações desse mosquito vetor.…”