TY - JOUR
T1 - The southern house mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is developing resistance to deltamethrin insecticide
AU - Ali, Amgd sayed
AU - Iqbal, Asim
AU - Kamalanathan, Tamilarasan
AU - Gnanaprakasam, Antony Raj
AU - Shajahan, Sabu
AU - Alsadeq, Mohammad Hamad
AU - Marzooqi, Mohamed Mahmood Al
AU - Hamdan, Mohamad
AU - Al-Deeb, Mohammad Ali
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Culex quinquefasciatus is a widely spread mosquito species that poses a significant public health threat in many countries. This insect vector is present in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), yet no studies have been conducted on its resistance to any insecticide group. Research shows that controlling mosquitoes is crucial to eliminating mosquito-borne diseases, but when these vectors develop insecticide resistance, the situation can escalate dangerously out of control. This study aimed to identify a knockdown resistance (kdr) mutation L1014F using molecular tools. Additionally, it aimed to assess deltamethrin resistance using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay. We screened Cx. quinquefasciatus adults (N = 174) for the presence of the mutation using allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) and DNA sequencing. We detected the mutation and found the kdr allele in all the sampled locations. Furthermore, the CDC bottle bioassay revealed deltamethrin resistance from only one sampling location. To our knowledge, this is the first report of insecticide resistance in Cx. quinquefasciatus in the UAE. Our findings show the need for continued insecticide resistance monitoring for effective mosquito control in the UAE.
AB - Culex quinquefasciatus is a widely spread mosquito species that poses a significant public health threat in many countries. This insect vector is present in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), yet no studies have been conducted on its resistance to any insecticide group. Research shows that controlling mosquitoes is crucial to eliminating mosquito-borne diseases, but when these vectors develop insecticide resistance, the situation can escalate dangerously out of control. This study aimed to identify a knockdown resistance (kdr) mutation L1014F using molecular tools. Additionally, it aimed to assess deltamethrin resistance using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay. We screened Cx. quinquefasciatus adults (N = 174) for the presence of the mutation using allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) and DNA sequencing. We detected the mutation and found the kdr allele in all the sampled locations. Furthermore, the CDC bottle bioassay revealed deltamethrin resistance from only one sampling location. To our knowledge, this is the first report of insecticide resistance in Cx. quinquefasciatus in the UAE. Our findings show the need for continued insecticide resistance monitoring for effective mosquito control in the UAE.
KW - AS-PCR
KW - CDC bottle bioassay
KW - Culex quinquefasciatus
KW - Deltamethrin
KW - Pyrethroid
KW - Resistance
KW - kdr
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85217190764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85217190764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-025-87843-6
DO - 10.1038/s41598-025-87843-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 39870794
AN - SCOPUS:85217190764
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 15
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 3411
ER -
