The Medical and Veterinary Entomology Unit of the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) published an article entitled Speciation Patterns of Aedes Mosquitoes in the Scutellaris Group: A Mitochondrial Perspective” in thescien tific journal ‘Scientific Reports’.

This study unravels the evolutionary of Aedes mosquitoes in the Scutellaris Group. Led by our researchers, this work involved collecting mosquito samples across the Asia-Pacific region. By analyzing their mitochondrial genes alongside other species within the group, the entomologists were able to unlock fascinating insights.

What did they find? Most speciation events for these mosquitoes occurred during the Paleogene and Neogene periods, with a key divergence between the Scutellaris and Albopictus Subgroups around 64 – 61 million years ago (MYA). Additionally, they identified a split between species in Asia/Micronesia and those in Melanesia/Polynesia approximately 36 – 35 MYA.

These discoveries suggest that the speciation of these mosquitoes may be driven by a variety of factors, including mammalian host diversity, climate changes, and geological dynamics, rather than solely human migration.

Congratulations to our dedicated team for this significant contribution to their understanding of mosquito evolution.