Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb 19;110(8):2888-92.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1219599110. Epub 2013 Jan 28.

Evolution of resistance to satyrization through reproductive character displacement in populations of invasive dengue vectors

Irka E Bargielowski  1 , L Philip Lounibos, María Cristina Carrasquilla
Affiliations

Evolution of resistance to satyrization through reproductive character displacement in populations of invasive dengue vectors

Irka E Bargielowski et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Recently, the highly invasive Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, rapidly displaced resident populations of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti in the southeastern United States and in Bermuda. Although multiple mechanisms of competitive displacement have been hypothesized, recent evidence of cross-insemination between these species in nature and the sterilizing effects of male accessory gland products asymmetrically favoring A. albopictus in interspecific matings support a role for satyrization (a form of reproductive interference) to explain the rapid displacements. Because of the drastic reproductive loss of A. aegypti females satyrized by A. albopictus males, we predicted selection for prezygotic isolation in populations of A. aegypti sympatric with A. albopictus. Exposures in cages demonstrated that female A. aegypti from populations in Florida sympatric with A. albopictus for the past 20 y were significantly less likely than nearby allopatric populations to mate with heterospecific males. Cross-inseminations of A. albopictus females by A. aegypti males were significantly less common, supporting the one-way direction of displacements observed in nature. Our results indicate rapid sexual selection leading to reproductive character displacement and the potential for satyr-resistant A. aegypti to recover from competitive displacements. These results have implications for increased risks of dengue transmission where these vector species meet worldwide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Frequencies of insemination in interspecific exposures of A. aegypti (aeg) and A. albopictus (albo) mosquitoes from allopatric (a) and sympatric (s) populations. “F” (female) and “M” (male) denote the sex of the mosquitoes in a particular cross. Light gray columns represent exposures in which the female is from an allopatric population; dark gray columns represent crosses in which the female is from a sympatric population. (A and B) Group 1: A. aegypti strains are from Key West (a) and Vero Beach (s), and A. albopictus strains are from East St. Louis (a) and Vero Beach (s). (C and D) Group 2: A. aegypti strains are from Miami (a) and Fort Pierce (s), and A. albopictus strains are as in Group 1. See Table 1 for details of strain origins.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. DeBach P. The competitive displacement and coexistence principles. Annu Rev Entomol. 1966;11:183–212.
    1. Mack RND, et al. Biotic invasions: Causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol Appl. 2000;10(3):689–710.
    1. Reitz SR, Trumble JT. Competitive displacement among insects and arachnids. Annu Rev Entomol. 2002;47:435–465. - PubMed
    1. Lounibos LP. Competitive displacement and reduction. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2007;23(2, Suppl):276–282. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hobbs JH, Hughes EA, Eichold BH., 2nd Replacement of Aedes aegypti by Aedes albopictus in Mobile, Alabama. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 1991;7(3):488–489. - PubMed

Publication types