1. Exploring the Wilderness within: An Integrative Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Study on Near-Wild and Colonized Aedes aegypti.
- Author
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Kelly, Erin Taylor, Mack, Lindsey K., and Attardo, Geoffrey M.
- Subjects
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AEDES aegypti , *LIFE history theory , *PENTOSE phosphate pathway , *YELLOW fever , *MOSQUITO control - Abstract
Simple Summary: The yellow-fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is the primary global arboviral vector of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Widespread resistance to insecticides has made this mosquito difficult to control. In our study, we compare wild-caught, insecticide-resistant California populations to a susceptible lab colony, Rockefeller, by comprehensively investigating levels of metabolites and conducting comparative gene expression analysis, alongside studies of life history traits. We specifically attempt to identify candidate metabolites that could be investigated further as biomarkers for an insecticide-resistant phenotype. We identify baseline differences in flux through pathways mediating the response to oxidative stress and identify metabolites that vary between the two groups across samples but identify few promising metabolite features with greater than 10-fold change in relative abundance between the strains. This study examines the phenotypic differences between wild-derived F2 Central Valley mosquitoes and the insecticide-susceptible Rockefeller (Rock) lab strain of Ae. aegypti. Given the rarity of wild pyrethroid-susceptible populations, the focus of this work is to develop an understanding of the resistance physiology in this invasive mosquito population and explore the potential of metabolites as diagnostic biomarkers for metabolic resistance. This study utilizes metabolomic, gene expression, and lifespan data for a comparison between strains. The findings indicate that wild-derived mosquitoes with greater metabolic resistance have a lifespan sensitivity to restricted larval nutrition. In terms of metabolism and gene expression, Central Valley mosquitoes show increased activity in oxidoreductase, glutathione metabolism, and the pentose phosphate pathway. Conversely, Rock mosquitoes display signs of metabolic inefficiency and mitochondrial dysregulation, likely tolerated due to the consistency and nutritional abundance of a controlled lab environment. The study also examines Ae. aegypti P450 and GSTE profiles in relation to other insecticide-resistant groups. While metabolomic data can differentiate our study groups, the challenges in biomarker development arise from few detected markers meeting high fold change thresholds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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