Abstract
The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), is the primary vector of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya fever, among other arboviral diseases. It is also a popular laboratory model in vector biology due to its ease of rearing and manipulation in the lab. Established laboratory strains have been used worldwide in thousands of studies for decades. Laboratory evolution of reference strains and contamination among strains are potential severe problems that could dramatically change experimental outcomes and thus is a concern in vector biology. We analyzed laboratory and field colonies of Ae. aegypti and an Ae. aegypti-derived cell line (Aag2) using 12 microsatellites and ~20,000 SNPs to determine the extent of divergence among laboratory strains and relationships to their wild relatives. We found that 1) laboratory populations are less genetically variable than their field counterparts; 2) colonies bearing the same name obtained from different laboratories may be highly divergent; 3) present genetic composition of the LVP strain used as the genome reference is incompatible with its presumed origin; 4) we document changes in two wild caught colonies over ~16 generations of colonization; and 5) the Aag2 Ae. aegypti cell line has experienced minimal genetic changes within and across laboratories. These results illustrate the degree of variability within and among strains of Ae. aegypti, with implications for cross-study comparisons, and highlight the need of a common mosquito repository and the implementation of strain validation tools.
Highlights
IntroductionThe inability of the researcher to control the surrounding physical and biological parameters in natural settings presents a challenge for many types of study
In nature, organisms live in complex environments
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Summary
The inability of the researcher to control the surrounding physical and biological parameters in natural settings presents a challenge for many types of study This problem can be overcome by bringing the research subject into the laboratory, where many, sometimes most, variables can be controlled and manipulated. For some model systems, such as microbes and certain nematodes [5], such change can be avoided or minimized by keeping frozen stocks of the original source This is not an option for many organisms, and laboratory colonies need to be constantly bred in the laboratory to keep them viable [6,7]. Starting in 2015, in an attempt to increase the reproducibility of research findings, the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) has required that all grant applications include a section entitled “Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources” (NIH 2015 NOT-OD-15-011 and 012)
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