Hematophagy Generates a Convergent Genomic Signature in Mosquitoes and Sandflies

2025/03/01 by Julien Devilliers, Ben Warren, Ezio Rosato +2 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Medicine · #Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences #Mosquito-borne diseases and control #Viral Infections and Vectors

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/gbe/evaf044

openalex publication_date 2025/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Blood feeding (hematophagy) is widespread across Diptera (true flies), yet the underlying genetic basis remains poorly understood. Using phylogenomics, we show that four gene families associated with neuromodulation, immune responses, embryonic development, and iron metabolism have undergone independent expansions within mosquitoes and sandflies. Our findings illuminate the underlying genetic basis for blood-feeding adaptations in these important disease vectors.

Citations

• IQ-TREE: A Fast and Effective Stochastic Algorithm for Estimating Maximum-Likelihood Phylogenies
• MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and Usability
• Ancestral State Estimation with Phylogenetic Ridge Regression
• eggNOG-mapper v2: Functional Annotation, Orthology Assignments, and Domain Prediction at the Metagenomic Scale
• BUSCO: Assessing Genomic Data Quality and Beyond

Discussions

• Our final paper is out! 🦟🩸 We show that hematophagy evolved at least twice independently in dipterans and that four gene families linked to neuromodulation, immunity, development, and iron metabolis [bsky, 2 points, 1 comments]

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