Biology subjects

Burgess, E. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Burgess, E. R..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

DNA barcoding and olfactory identification of attractive nectar sources for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Adult mosquitoes rely on plant-derived sugars for survival, reproduction, and flight, yet the plant taxa that mosquitoes encounter in nature and the odors that make those plants attractive remain poorly understood. Most studies of mosquito attraction to plant odors have focused on candidate plants selected a priori, rather than plants linked to field-collected mosquitoes. Here, we combined plant DNA barcoding, semi-field behavioral assays, and volatile profiling to identify field-associated plant resources relevant to Aedes aegypti. Plant DNA recovered from mosquitoes collected across three Florida counties revealed broad plant associations, including 90 genera spanning 37 families, with several taxa recurring across counties or appearing prominently within particular localities. Behavioral experiments in semi-field sticky-trap assays found that five field-associated plant taxa were significantly attractive relative to blank controls, indicating that taxa associated with mosquitoes in nature can also function as attractive cues under semi-field conditions. GC-MS analyses of headspace collections from 42 plant taxa detected 211 volatile compounds and revealed substantial variation in both total emission rate and odor composition among taxa. Although several compounds, including -pinene, limonene, 4-ethylacetophenone, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 4-ethylbenzaldehyde, and caryophyllene, were broadly distributed across plant groups, volatile profiles differed significantly among taxa and shared compounds often occurred at markedly different proportional abundances. The five behaviorally tested taxa likewise showed both overlap and divergence, sharing 17 compounds across all five taxa while differing in dominant constituents and total emissions. Together, these results show that Ae. aegypti interacts with a diverse set of plants in the field, and suggests nectar-seeking is shaped not simply by plant identity or total odor abundance, but by the composition and proportional structure of plant odors.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Host usage in Aedes aegypti collected from Houston, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona using whole mosquito third-generation sequencing blood meal analysis

Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of several viruses of international public health concern, including Zika, dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Their synanthropic ecology and establishment in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate areas make Ae. aegypti one of the most medically relevant mosquito species. While they have been reported to be highly anthropophilic, several studies indicate a broader host range. They are also reported to take multiple blood meals between gonotrophic cycles. Consumption of multiple blood meals makes determination of host usage difficult when using common blood meal analysis methods. In this study, we examined host usage of Ae. aegypti in Harris County, Texas (Houston), and Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix), using a Nanopore-based third-generation sequencing protocol to successfully resolve host usage multiplicity and identify a broad range of host usage. Using this method, approximately 80% of samples from each location with evidence of blood feeding resulted in a blood meal species identification, with a single host blood meal in about 80% of samples and approximately 20% containing evidence of multiple blood meals. Overall, we observed a wide host range with human DNA the most prevalent followed by feline and canine. We also identified avian, rodent, ungulate and even ectotherm usage by Ae. aegypti from Maricopa County. The discovery of hosts other than humans expands the understanding of host usage dynamics in Ae. aegypti and their involvement in arbovirus transmission systems in highly urbanized areas such as Harris and Maricopa Counties. SynopsisThe yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is a vector of several viral pathogens that frequently cause human disease in tropical and subtropical locations but many of these pathogens are not controlled by vaccination. As such, control of this mosquito is critical to reduce disease transmission and better understanding of the ecology of this species helps to improve the efficacy of operational control. In this study, researchers used a deep sequencing method to define patterns of host usage in two large US metropolitan areas, Houston, TX and Phoenix, AZ, with substantial Ae. aegypti infestations. Results identified frequent multiple blood feeding by individual mosquitoes and that the primary host sources were humans and their pets. Results from Phoenix indicated a broad host usage, including feeding on livestock, birds, and even reptiles. This may provide useful information about Ae. aegypti resting sites and could be used to improve treatment by operational personnel.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Frequencies of house fly proto-Y chromosomes across populations are predicted by temperature heterogeneity within populations

Sex chromosomes often differ between closely related species and can even be polymorphic within populations. Species with polygenic sex determination segregate for multiple different sex determining loci within populations, making them uniquely informative of the selection pressures that drive the evolution of sex chromosomes. The house fly (Musca domestica) is a model species for studying polygenic sex determination because male determining genes have been identified on all six of the chromosomes, which means that any chromosome can be a "proto-Y" chromosome. In addition, chromosome IV can carry a female-determining locus, making it a W chromosome. The different proto-Y chromosomes are distributed along latitudinal clines on multiple continents, their distributions can be explained by seasonality in temperature, and they have temperature-dependent effects on physiological and behavioral traits. It is not clear, however, how the clinal distributions interact with the effect of seasonality on the frequencies of house fly proto-Y chromosomes across populations. To address this question, we measured the frequencies of house fly Y and W chromosomes across nine populations in the United States of America. We confirmed the clinal distribution along the eastern coast of North America, but it is limited to the eastern coast. In contrast, annual mean daily temperature range is significantly correlated with proto-Y chromosome frequencies across the entire continent. Our results therefore suggest that temperature heterogeneity can explain the distributions of house fly proto-Y chromosomes in a way that does not depend on the cline. These results contribute to our understanding of how ecological factors affect sex chromosome evolution.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Assessing pyrethroid resistance status in the Culex pipiens complex (Diptera: Culicidae) from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois using Cox regression of bottle bioassays and other detection tools

Culex pipiens complex is an important vector of epizootic and zoonotic pathogens, including West Nile virus. Chicago, Illinois and its suburbs have suffered high incidence of human West Nile virus infections in the past. This makes abatement programs in and around the Chicago area an essential service. The control of Cx. pipiens is often complicated by rapidly evolving resistance to pyrethroids, which are the most widely used chemical class in US mosquito abatement programs. The present study assessed Sumithrin(R) resistance in Cx. pipiens collected from five locations around Cook County, Illinois, neighboring the city limits of Chicago. According to CDC guidelines, samples from all five locations demonstrated some resistance to Sumithrin(R). When assessed with Anvil(R), a formulated product made of Sumithrin(R) synergized with piperonyl butoxide, susceptibility was rescued in mosquitoes from three out of the five locations, suggesting involvement of mixed-function oxidases and/or carboxylesterases in Sumithrin(R) resistance at these locations. Not all locations had susceptibility rescued by Anvil(R), but these locations had relatively low knockdown resistance allele frequencies, suggesting that mechanisms other than knockdown resistance may be involved. Enzyme activities did not reveal any marked trends that could be related back to mortality in the bottle bioassays, which highlights the need for multiple types of assays to infer enzymatic involvement in resistance. Future directions in pyrethroid resistance management in Chicago area Cx. pipiens are discussed.

pharmacology and toxicology↗