RNA editing: an overlooked source of fine-scale adaptation in insect vectors?

Abstract

RNA editing is a source of molecular diversity that regulates the functional repertoire of animal transcriptomes. Multiple studies in Drosophila have revealed that conserved editing events can be a source of evolutionary adaptations, and there is a solid body of evidence linking editing and the fine-tuning of neural genes, which are often targeted by insecticides used in vector control. Yet, despite these suggestive connections, genome-wide analyses of editing in insect vectors are conspicuously lacking. Future advances will require complementing the growing wealth of vector genomes with targeted transcriptome analyses. Here, we review recent investigations of the genetic footprints of adaptive RNA editing in insects and provide an overview of new methodologies applicable to studies of RNA editing in insect vectors.