Genetic analysis of Aedes aegypti captured at two international airports serving to the Greater Tokyo Area during 2012-2015.

The introduction of exotic disease vectors into a new habitat can drastically change the local epidemiological situation. During 2012-2015, larvae and an adult of the yellow-fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, were captured alive at two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Because this species does not naturally distribute in this country, those mosquitoes were considered to be introduced from overseas via air-transportation. To infer the places of origin of those mosquitoes, we genotyped the 12 microsatellite loci for which the most comprehensive population genetic reference is currently available. Although clustering by Bayesian and multivariate methods both suggested that all those mosquitoes captured at the airports in Japan belonged to the Asia/Pacific populations, they were not clustered into a single cluster. Moreover, there was variation in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (CoxI) haplotypes among mosquitoes collected in different incidents of discovery which indicated the existence of multiple maternal origins. We conclude there is little evidence to support the overwintering of Ae. aegypti at the airports; nevertheless, special attention is still needed to prevent the invasion of this prominent arbovirus vector.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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