# Comprehensive characterization of ancestral populations of the vector Aedes aegypti on Indian Ocean islands

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $576,486

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
We have recently shown that the ancestors of all Aedes aegypti populations in both sub-Saharan Africa as well
as around the world presently reside on islands in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) including Madagascar.
These islands gave rise to continental African Ae. aegypti formosus no earlier than about 100,000 years ago.
We propose multidisciplinary studies on SWIO populations of Ae. aegypti along with its close relatives, Ae.
mascarensis and Ae. pia. This will include population genetics, phylogenetics/phylogeography, vector
competence, blood meal analyses, and characterization of the virome of field-caught females. We address
question such as: Are the ancestors that gave rise to Ae. aegypti s.s. capable of transmitting the same viruses
that cause human diseases? Are these mosquitoes carrying the same viruses in the field and/or do they
harbor novel undescribed arboviruses? What are the sources of their blood meals? Where do they breed?
Population genetics and phylogenetic preliminary work have already identified candidates for new undescribed
species and we suspect more cryptic taxa will be found. We propose to assemble complete genomes for the
most informative populations/taxa that will allow comparative studies as well as inference of the ancestral
genome of Ae. aegypti s.s., a fundamental resource for analysis of a plethora of genomics studies ongoing in
laboratories around the world.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10445330
- **Project number:** 5R01AI155562-02
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeffrey R POWELL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $576,486
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-06 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10445330

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10445330, Comprehensive characterization of ancestral populations of the vector Aedes aegypti on Indian Ocean islands (5R01AI155562-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10445330. Licensed CC0.

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