Self-domestication in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (the behaviour of living in association with humans for the past 5,000 years) was accompanied by hundreds of genetic adaptations that affect chemosensory, neuronal, regulatory and metabolic functions. Such adaptations arose by selection acting on preexisting genetic variation and local adaptation driven by neuronal olfactory redundancy.
Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access through your institution
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Learn more
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Learn more
Buy this article
Purchase on SpringerLink
Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Log in
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Read our FAQs
Contact customer support
Fig. 1: Local adaptation of protein-coding genes related to self-domestication across A. aegypti populations.
References
Rose, N. H. et al. Climate and urbanization drive mosquito preference for humans. Curr. Biol. 30, 3570–3579 (2020). This paper characterizes host-preference behaviours of A. aegypti mosquitoes from sub-Saharan Africa, and links human-biting preference to human population density.
CASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Tabachnick, W. J. & Powell, J. R. A world-wide survey of genetic variation in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Genet. Res. 34, 215–229 (1979). This paper presents the initial hypothesis of domestication in A. aegypti and describes the phenotypic differences between the Aaf and Aaa ecotypes.
CASPubMedGoogle Scholar
Hecht, E. E. et al. The evolutionary neuroscience of domestication. Trends Cogn. Sci. 27, 553–567 (2023). This review presents a robust conceptual framework of domestication, based on the effect of complex behaviours on brain change and evolution.
PubMedGoogle Scholar
Andersson, L. & Purugganan, M. Molecular genetic variation of animals and plants under domestication. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2122150119 (2022). This review discusses similar molecular changes and adaptations found across species under human domestication.
CASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Barrett, R. D. H. & Schluter, D. Adaptation from standing genetic variation. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23, 38–44 (2008). This review discusses how standing genetic variation can facilitate rapid adaptation to novel environments on short evolutionary scales.
PubMedGoogle Scholar
Herre, M. et al. Non-canonical odor coding in the mosquito. Cell 185, 3104–3123 (2022). This paper reports experimental evidence for neuronal olfactory redundancy in the odour-coding mechanism of A. aegypti.
CASPubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
Download references
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Lozada-Chávez, A. N. et al. Adaptive genomic signatures of globally invasive populations of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02643-5 (2025).
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark
Cite this article
Genetic adaptations from self-domestication in the yellow fever mosquito. Nat Ecol Evol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02649-z
Download citation
Published:28 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02649-z
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Get shareable link
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Copy to clipboard
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative