First detection of a putative knockdown resistance gene in major mosquito vector, Aedes albopictus

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), is the major vector of Chikungunya fever and the secondary vector of dengue fever. We collected Ae. albopictus from Singapore and performed genotyping assay to detect mutations of the voltage-gated sodium channel, which is the target site of pyrethroid insecticides. We detected an amino acid substitution, F1534C, which is suspected to confer knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroid insecticides. Of the collected mosquitoes, 53.8% were homozygous for this mutation, and the allele frequency of this mutation was estimated to be 73.1%. No kdr mutation was detected in the 5 other loci of domains II and IV. This is the first evidence for the presence of the kdr gene in Ae. albopictus, and our findings highlight the need for studying the global distribution of this allele in this important vector insect.