Aedes aegypti

Description: Aedes aegypti is a species of mosquito found throughout the world. It is most famously known for being an efficient vector for a wide array of known human pathogens such as Chikungunya Virus and Dengue Fever. There are three stages of development in mosquitoes including a larvae stage, and pupa stage and an adult stage. In the Aedes aegypti species, only the female adults bite mammals to draw blood, this is used in the development of eggs which are fertilized by a male within the first few days after the new adult mosquitoes transform from pupae. The bite of the females is what acts as the vector for pathogens to transmit themselves from the mosquito reservoir to the new mammal host. The average lifespan of Aedes aegypti is about four weeks.

Phylogeny:Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Diptera

Family: Culicidae

Genus: Aedes

Subgenus: Stegomyia

Species: A. aegypti

Distribution:

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is indigenous to South/Central Asia, though it has spread to other tropical areas of the world. It is currently found on every major continent other then Antarctica and has become an up and coming problem for many countries which it has spread to.

Studies and Unique Features:

There are a few unique features shown by Aedes eagyti that help set it apart from other mosquito species. The most prominent of which are identifying colors on it's body (white tips on the real legs and a marking shaped like a lyre on it's thorax).

Many studies on Aedes aegypti focus on the most famous aspect of this particular parasite: it's ability to spread disease rapidly, and with high efficiency. Many of these studies of course focus on the suppression of Aedes aegypti populations in an attempt to prevent them from colonizing populated areas where people may become infected with the various diseases that they are capable of carrying. Other studies look to genetic solutions to preventing the mosquito from passing on pathogens, without necessarily harming the mosquito itself. One study looked at introducing the bacterial species Wolbachia pipientis to a Aedes eagyti mosquito population in Australia with the goal being to decrease the susceptibility of the mosquitoes to act as vectors for pathogens. This study, according to the data released in the paper published in Nature, was successful in it's goal of infiltrating the mosquito population with a symbiotic bacterium that prevents them from becoming vectors for human pathogens.

Citations:

Hoffmann, A. A., B. L. Montgomery, J. Popovici, I. Iturbe-Ormaetxe, P. H. Johnson, F. Muzzi, M. Greenfield, M. Durkan, Y. S. Leong, Y. Dong, H. Cook, J. Axford, A. G. Callahan, N. Kenny, C. Omodei, E. A. Mcgraw, P. A. Ryan, S. A. Ritchie,

M. Turelli, and S. L. O’Neill. "Successful Establishment of Wolbachia in Aedes Populations to Suppress Dengue Transmission." Nature 476.7361 (2011): 454-57. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Nene, V., J. R. Wortman, D. Lawson, B. Haas, C. Kodira, Z. Tu, B. Loftus, Z. Xi, K. Megy, M. Grabherr, Q. Ren, E. M. Zdobnov, N. F. Lobo, K. S. Campbell, S. E. Brown, M. F. Bonaldo, J. Zhu, S. P. Sinkins, D. G. Hogenkamp, P. Amedeo, P.

Arensburger, P. W. Atkinson, S. Bidwell, J. Biedler, E. Birney, R. V. Bruggner, J. Costas, M. R. Coy, J. Crabtree, M. Crawford, B. Debruyn, D. Decaprio, K. Eiglmeier, E. Eisenstadt, H. El-Dorry, W. M. Gelbart, S. L. Gomes, M. Hammond, L. I.

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Nascimento, H. F. Naveira, C. Nusbaum, S. O'leary, J. Orvis, M. Pertea, H. Quesneville, K. R. Reidenbach, Y.-H. Rogers, C. W. Roth, J. R. Schneider, M. Schatz, M. Shumway, M. Stanke, E. O. Stinson, J. M. C. Tubio, J. P. Vanzee, S. Verjovski-

Almeida, D. Werner, O. White, S. Wyder, Q. Zeng, Q. Zhao, Y. Zhao, C. A. Hill, A. S. Raikhel, M. B. Soares, D. L. Knudson, N. H. Lee, J. Galagan, S. L. Salzberg, I. T. Paulsen, G. Dimopoulos, F. H. Collins, B. Birren, C. M. Fraser-Liggett, and

D. W. Severson. "Genome Sequence of Aedes Aegypti, a Major Arbovirus Vector." Science 316.5832 (2007): 1718-723. NCBI. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Reinert, John F., Ralph E. Harbach, and Ian J. Kitching. "Phylogeny and Classification of Aedini (Diptera: Culicidae), Based on Morphological Characters of All Life Stages." Zool J Linn Soc Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 142.3

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