This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Two mosquito species in America have been engaged in a battle for dominance for the past 30 years: the native Aedes aegypti and the invasive Aedes albopictus -- also known as the Asian tiger mosquito The tiger mosquito has a distinct competitive advantage Male Aedes albopictus are really good at wooing female Aedes aegypti The resultant interspecies mating permanently sterilizes the female, effectively ending her reproductive future But Aedes aegypti are evolving the ability to resist the advances of Aedes albopictus Although this is good news for Aedes aegypti the outlook is darker for humans, as Aedes aegypti are key transmitters of diseases like Zika and dengue fever Researchers have now started to uncover the genetic changes tied to this resistance Uncovering the molecular correlates governing mosquito mating preferences could lead to better control strategies and might help prevent future outbreaks of disease Burford Reiskind, et al..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Microbes are widely known to spread disease, but could they also help prevent it? A look inside in the mosquito gut reveals a community of microbes fit for the job. Mosquitoes are well-known vectors of disease, transmitting West Nile and Zika virus and the pathogens that cause malaria and dengue fever. Unfortunately, traditional control methods have led to insecticide resistance and negative impacts on other organisms, but mosquitoes, like other animals, also host non-disease-causing microbes in their gut. These benign microorganisms can directly interact with the deadly pathogens harbored by these insects. They can also affect mosquito traits influencing pathogen transmission, such as their population density, development, biting rate, and survival. For example, certain bacterial strains can reduce female fertility and the egg-hatching rate, while others can protect mosquitoes from environmental stress..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In the battle against mosquito-born disease, scientists are turning to one of the world’s oldest practices for help: matchmaking. Releasing sterile or genetically altered male mosquitoes into the wild to mate with females prevents those mosquitoes from reproducing and going on to spread disease. But understanding more about what females find attractive could help create males they’ll mate with. So what do female mosquitoes look for in a mate? Researchers from the United Kingdom recently revealed that being a good listener matters…at least to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, a species responsible for transmitting diseases such as yellow fever, dengue, and Zika. Many mosquito species mate in midair. As they fly, their beating wings produce unique sound patterns, and a male must match a female’s sound pattern to gain her romantic interest. This is called harmonic convergence. Various factors influence how well the insects can match these mating tunes, but the researchers decided to focus on body size..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Like most animals, mosquitoes carry many microbes in and on their bodies. These microbial communities (microbiota) impact the mosquitoes’ growth, survival, reproduction, and capacity to transmit pathogens, but the tools available to researchers to study mosquito microbiotas are limited. In other species, particularly mammals, microbiota transfer is a useful method to research microbial dynamics. However, such transfers had not previously been attempted in mosquitoes, until a recent study where researchers successfully transferred microbiota between individual _Aedes aegypti_ mosquitoes. as well as between _Culex quinquefasciatus_ and _A. aegypti_ mosquitoes. They transferred whole-body microbiota from adult donors to larvae and then observed the microbiota dynamics. The recipient mosquitoes retained most of the donor bacterial groups, suggesting that the transfer was successful, and the typical microbiota shifts occurred as the mosquitoes moved from larval stages to adulthood..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.