LONDON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The genome of the mosquito that carries the notorious Zika, dengue fever and yellow fever viruses has been mapped by an international team of researchers, providing scientists with the tool to reduce mosquito-borne illnesses, according to a study released on Friday by the University College London (UCL).
The team, led by researchers at The Rockefeller University and involving those at the UCL, produced a new blueprint of the Aedes aegypti,a type of mosquito, genome. The applications of this new resource include multiple strategies for reducing mosquito-borne illnesses.
Aedes aegypti carries harmful pathogens, and transmits the diseases to hundreds of millions of people annually. Many researchers believe that the best way to curb infection is to better understand the infectors.
"This new high-quality genome assembly is accelerating basic mosquito science, as we're learning more about how mosquitoes develop resistance to current insecticides, and finding new targets for better insecticides," said Professor David Sattelle from UCL Medicine, who is one of the co-authors of the study.
Multiple international research teams are now using this tool to perform new experiments. The research has the potential to assist not only scientists studying mosquitoes, but also those attempting to improve the quality and availability of genomic resources for diverse species.
The study has been published in the journal Nature.
