The Culex Pipiens Complex

The Culex pipiens complex in Asia includes a temperate subspecies, Culex pipiens pallens, of uncertain taxonomic status. The shape of the male genitalia suggests it is a hybrid between Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus. We studied populations of Cx. p. pallens in Japan, Korea, and China and compared them to local populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. p. pipiens. We examined variation in a nuclear intron in the acetylcholinesterase-2 gene [ACE] and eight microsatellite loci. We found a distinct microsatellite signature for Cx. p. pallens indicating restricted gene flow between Eastern and Western populations of Cx. pipiens, supporting the existence of two subspecies. Furthermore, a multilocus genotype analysis revealed current hybridization between Cx. p. pallens and Cx. quinquefasciatus in southern Japan, Republic of Korea, and China but not in Hokkaido, in northern Japan. Surprisingly, however, we found that the sex-linked ACE locus in chromosome I has introgressed asymmetrically through the males such that all male Cx. p. pallens have a copy of the Cx. quinquefasciatus ACE locus. This result highlights some of the potential consequences of hybridization between local and introduced species to disease transmission worldwide.

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“…pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus were introduced into new areas with migrating people and commercial traffic (Mattingly et al 1951). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The urban form of Cx. p. pipiens (form molestus) was introduced into northern East Asia likely during WWII (Mattingly et al 1951), but the feral form ( Cx. p. pipiens form pipiens) has not been found in Asia (Cui et al 2007, Kasai et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genetics of the mosquito Culex pipiens pallens reveals sex-linked asymmetric introgression by Culex quinquefasciatus

Fonseca

Smith

Kim

et al. 2009

Infection, Genetics and Evolution

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“…The ability of adult females to survive freezing winters (by undergoing dormancy or true diapause), the willingness of males to mate in small confined spaces (stenogamy), the ability of females to lay a first batch of eggs without requiring a blood meal (autogeny), and the female choice of both bird and mammalian blood, all traits whose expression varies widely across the complex, have obvious implications for distribution, abundance, and consequent vectorial capacity. 2 The current taxonomy of the Cx. pipiens complex in the Catalog of the Mosquitoes of the World 3 maintained by the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit at the Smithsonian Institution (wrbu.si.edu), recognizes Culex quinquefasciatus Say and Cx.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autogeny in Culex pipiens Complex Mosquitoes from the San Francisco Bay Area

Strickman¹,

Fonseca²

2012

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. We surveyed the genetic ancestry and recorded the occurrence of autogeny, the developmental times, and survival rates in families of Culex pipiens in Santa Clara County, CA, at 37 N latitude. Females in 95% of the families produced fertile egg rafts without access to blood (= autogeny) after mating in stenogamous conditions. Developmental time, survival, and egg raft production were closely correlated to temperature. Male DV/D ratios overwhelmingly matched Cx. pipiens but a microsatellite analysis revealed these were Cx. pipiens form molestus hybridized with Culex quinquefasciatus and to a lesser extent to Cx. pipiens form pipiens, a genetic mix heretofore not recorded elsewhere. Greater DV/D ratios and larger proportions of genetic ancestry from Cx. quinquefasciatus were negatively correlated to autogeny. The combination of multiple overwintering strategies and widespread autogeny in females arising from aboveground larval sites supports the hypothesis that some North American populations of Cx. pipiens complex mosquitoes express unusual phenologies.

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“…pipiens comprend deux formes distinctes, pipiens et molestus, qui sont morphologiquement identiques, mais écophysiologiquement différentes [22,62]. La forme pipiens est largement distribuée dans toutes les régions tempérées [6,41,59]. Elle se développe dans des gîtes épigés à ciel ouvert et entre en diapause en hiver.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Estimation du risque d’introduction du virus de la fièvre de la vallée du Rift en Tunisie par le moustique Culex pipiens

Krida

Diancourt

Bouattour

et al. 2010

Bull. Soc. Pathol. Exot.

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The mosquito Culex pipiens has been involved as vector of the West Nile virus in Tunisia. Its bio-ecological characteristics in combination with some environmental factors have favoured the emergence of this virus in a West-Nile free zone. This leads to question about the potential risk of introducing another arbovirus, the Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus, in Tunisia from neighbouring countries where RVF circulates. In this study, we have evaluated the vector competence of different populations of Cx. pipiens towards two strains of RVF virus, the virulent ZH548 and the avirulent Clone 13 by experimental infections and the genetic differentiation of these populations of Cx. pipiens using four microsatellite loci. We found disseminated infection rates ranging from 0% to 14.7% and a high genetic differentiation among populations without any geographical pattern (no isolation by distance). Thus, although Cx. pipiens is able to sustain an amplification of RVF virus, viral dissemination through mosquito dispersal would be unlikely. However, as RVF is an emerging disease transmitted by several other potential mosquito species (e.g. Ochlerotatus caspius), attention should be maintained to survey livestock and mosquitoes in Tunisia.

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The Culex Pipiens Complex

Cited by 79 publications

References 21 publications

Population genetics of the mosquito Culex pipiens pallens reveals sex-linked asymmetric introgression by Culex quinquefasciatus

Population genetics of the mosquito Culex pipiens pallens reveals sex-linked asymmetric introgression by Culex quinquefasciatus

Autogeny in Culex pipiens Complex Mosquitoes from the San Francisco Bay Area

Estimation du risque d’introduction du virus de la fièvre de la vallée du Rift en Tunisie par le moustique Culex pipiens

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