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Brief Communications
Nature 423, 136-137 (8 May 2003) | doi:10.1038/423136b
Comparative genomics: Insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors
Mylène Weill1, Georges Lutfalla2, Knud Mogensen2, Fabrice Chandre4, Arnaud Berthomieu1, Claire Berticat1, Nicole Pasteur1, Alexandre Philips3, Philippe Fort3 & Michel Raymond1
Abstract
Resistance to insecticides among mosquitoes that act as vectors for malaria (Anopheles gambiae) and West Nile virus (Culex pipiens) emerged more than 25 years ago in Africa, America and Europe; this resistance is frequently due to a loss of sensitivity of the insect's acetylcholinesterase enzyme to organophosphates and carbamates1. Here we show that this insensitivity results from a single amino-acid substitution in the enzyme, which we found in ten highly resistant strains of C. pipiens from tropical (Africa and Caribbean) and temperate (Europe) areas, as well as in one resistant African strain of A. gambiae. Our identification of this mutation may pave the way for designing new insecticides.
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