GHTM

Global Health and Tropical Medicine

  • GHTM
    • Vision
    • Mission
    • Governance
    • Scientific Advisory Board
  • News
    • Outreach
    • Events
      • GHTM Sessions
      • Workshops
    • Articles
    • Jobs
  • Research
    • Cross-cutting issues
      • Global Pathogen Dispersion and Population Mobility
      • Drug Discovery and Drug Resistance
      • Diagnostics
      • Public Health Information
      • Fair Research Partnerships
    • Research Groups
      • PPS – Population health, policies and services
      • THOP – TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
      • VBD – Vector borne diseases and pathogens
      • IHC – Individual health care
    • Research in numbers
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
    • Projects
      • Ongoing Projects
      • Completed Projects
    • Members
      • Population health, policies and services
        • PPS PhD members
        • PPS non PhD members
      • TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
        • THOP PhD members
        • THOP non PhD members
      • Vector-borne diseases and pathogens
        • VBD PhD members
        • VBD non PhD members
      • Individual Health Care
        • IHC PhD members
        • IHC non PhD members
      • Technical / administrative support
  • Publications
    • 2023
    • 2022
  • Education
    • Master Theses
    • PhD Theses
  • Services
  • Reports
    • GHTM Reports
    • Scientific Advisory Board Reports
Home / Publicações / A Novel Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (AS-PCR) Assay to Detect the V1016G Knockdown Resistance Mutation Confirms Its Widespread Presence in Aedes albopictus Populations from Italy

A Novel Allele Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (AS-PCR) Assay to Detect the V1016G Knockdown Resistance Mutation Confirms Its Widespread Presence in Aedes albopictus Populations from Italy

  • Autores: Verena Pichler, Emiliano Mancini, Martina Micocci, Maria Calzetta, Daniele Arnoldi, Annapaola Rizzoli, Valeria Lencioni, Francesca Paoli, Romeo Bellini, Rodolfo Veronesi, Simone Martini, Andrea Drago, Claudio De Liberato, Arianna Ermenegildi, Joao Pinto, Alessandra della Torre, Beniamino Caputo
  • Journal: Insects, 12(1), art 79
  • Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12010079

SIMPLE SUMMARY

The Asian Tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is an invasive species which has become a worldwide public health concern due to its colonization of all continents (except Antarctica), its aggressive biting behavior and its capacity to transmit potentially deadly human viruses, such as Dengue and Chikungunya. Insecticides currently represent the most commonly used weapon to control epidemics of mosquito-borne viruses, but their effectiveness is threatened by the fast and worldwide spread of resistant mosquito vector populations. Molecular approaches able to easily detect mosquito genetic traits associated with insecticide resistance are among the key tools to counteract this phenomenon. We developed and tested a method that makes it possible to detect the presence in Aedes albopictus of a specific genetic trait (the so-called knock-down resistance (kdr) mutation) associated with resistance to pyrethroids, the most commonly used insecticidal class. We tested this approach on mosquitoes sampled across Italy and show that the kdr mutation is widespread in the country and reaches worrying frequencies (up to 45%) in coastal areas where pyrethroids are widely exploited to reduce mosquito nuisance. These results should serve as a warning bell and encourage further studies to inform insecticide management policies with the aim of maintaining the effectiveness of pyrethroids in the long term.

ABSTRACT

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping of mutations in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel (vssc) associated with resistance to pyrethroid insecticides is widely used and represents a potential early warning and monitoring system for insecticide resistance arising in mosquito populations, which are vectors of different human pathogens. In the secondary vector Aedes albopictus — an Asian species that has invaded and colonized the whole world, including temperate regions —sequencing of domain II of the vssc gene is still needed to detect the V1016G mutation associated with pyrethroid resistance. In this study we developed and tested a novel allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) assay to genotype the V1016G mutation in this species and applied it to the analysis of wild populations from Italy. The results confirm the high accuracy of the novel AS-PCR and highlight frequencies of the V1016G allele as >5% in most sampling sites, with peaks of 20–45% in coastal touristic sites where pyrethroid treatments are extensively implemented, mostly for mosquito nuisance reduction. The high frequency of this mutation observed in Italian Ae. albopictus populations should serve as a warning bell, advocating for increased monitoring and management of a phenomenon which risks neutralizing the only weapon today available to counteract (risks of) arbovirus outbreaks.

KEYWORDS

Aedes albopictus; insecticide resistance; integrated vector management; vector control; kdr genotyping; pyrethroid resistance.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Events

Carla Maia awarded by the Journal of Comparative Pathology Education Trust

  Carla Maia, Assistant Researcher and member of VBD-GHTM Research Group, was invited to … [Read More...]

Ciência Viva 2023: “PSI Parasite Scene Investigation – Be a Researcher for a week”

  “PSI Parasite Scene Investigation - Be a Researcher for a week” was the GHTM-IHMT … [Read More...]

Summer Internships Ciência Viva 2023: high school students were scientists in the field of malaria for one week

  Between 24th and 28th of July, IHC-GHTM researcher Márcia Melo Medeiros and VBD-GHTM … [Read More...]

Infectious Diseases and their vectors: come, research and find out more about this relationship!

  This is the title of one of the summer internships hosted by GHTM/IHMT NOVA in the scope of … [Read More...]

Call for PhD Studentships

The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), through … [Read More...]

IHMT | GHTM – APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

IHMT | GHTM - Applications are open for three research vacancies:   One position - PhD … [Read More...]

About GHTM

GHTM is a R&D Center that brings together researchers from IHMT with a track record in Tropical Medicine and International/Global Health. It aims at strengthening Portugal's role as a leading partner in the development and implementation of a global health research agenda. Our evidence-based interventions contribute to the promotion of equity in health and to improve the health of populations.

Contacts

Rua da Junqueira, 100
1349-008 Lisboa
Portugal
+351 213 652 600
+351 213 632 105

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Subscribe Newsletter

  • How to get to GHTM/IHMT
  • GHTM Sessions
  • Research Groups
  • Cross-cutting issues
© Copyright 2023 IHMT-UNL Todos os Direitos Reservados.
  • Universidade Nova de Lisboa
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

    Project UID/Multi/04413/2013