科學家們已經(jīng)測定了三大主要的致病蚊子中的第三種蚊子的基因組序列,。 人們已經(jīng)知道了伊蚊（Aedes aegypt）和按蚊（Anopheles gambiae）的基因組,；此次新被測序的是庫蚊（Culex quinquefasciatus），它也被稱作南方居所蚊蟲（southern house mosquito）,。 這種蚊子是攜帶諸如西尼羅病毒及圣路易腦炎病毒等的一種重要的媒介,，它也是攜帶可導致淋巴絲蟲病的線蟲的媒介。 在這三個蚊屬中,，庫蚊是最具多樣性而且地理分布最廣的蚊子,，而對其基因組的測序揭露了庫蚊與其它蚊子之間存在的某些有趣的差異。 通過比較這三種蚊子的基因組,，研究人員可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)控制蚊蟲傳播疾病的新線索,，或者反過來說，他們可能會找出令人們難以控制這些不同品種的蚊子之間所存在的差別,。
根據(jù)Peter Arensburger及其同事撰寫的第一篇文章披露,，庫蚊的基因組中有1萬8883個能夠編碼蛋白質(zhì)的基因，這一數(shù)字比伊蚊要多22%,，比按蚊要多52%,。 有數(shù)個基因家族有所擴大，其中包括那些與嗅覺和味覺受體有關的基因以及與唾液腺和免疫系統(tǒng)功能有關的基因,。 這些擴大的基因家族可能反映了庫蚊可以吸食鳥類,、人類和牲畜類血液的這一事實。 在第二篇文章中,，Lyric Bartholomay及其同事更深入地探索了庫蚊中的感染反應基因,。 他們揭示了庫蚊中有500個免疫反應相關基因，其中有些與伊蚊的類似,，但它們比按蚊或黑腹果蠅的相關基因要少,。 有數(shù)個基因的擴展與其對不同棲息地的適應性改變有關，其中包括常常能夠發(fā)現(xiàn)庫蚊的受到污染的,、城市化的環(huán)境,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦英文摘要：
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1191864
Sequencing of Culex quinquefasciatus Establishes a Platform for Mosquito Comparative Genomics
Peter Arensburger,1,* Karine Megy,2 Robert M. Waterhouse,3,4 Jenica Abrudan,5 Paolo Amedeo,6 Beatriz Antelo,7 Lyric Bartholomay,8 Shelby Bidwell,9 Elisabet Caler,6 Francisco Camara,9 Corey L. Campbell,10 Kathryn S. Campbell,11 Claudio Casola,12 Marta T. Castro,13 Ishwar Chandramouliswaran,6 Sinéad B. Chapman,14 Scott Christley,5 Javier Costas,15 Eric Eisenstadt,6 Cedric Feschotte,16 Claire Fraser-Liggett,17 Roderic Guigo,9 Brian Haas,14 Martin Hammond,2 Bill S. Hansson,18 Janet Hemingway,19 Sharon R. Hill,20 Clint Howarth,14 Rickard Ignell,20 Ryan C. Kennedy,5 Chinnappa D. Kodira,21 Neil F. Lobo,5 Chunhong Mao,22 George Mayhew,23 Kristin Michel,24 Akio Mori,5 Nannan Liu,25 Horacio Naveira,26 Vishvanath Nene,17,27 Nam Nguyen,16 Matthew D. Pearson,14 Ellen J. Pritham,16 Daniela Puiu,28 Yumin Qi,22 Hilary Ranson,19 Jose M. C. Ribeiro,29 Hugh M. Roberston,30 David W. Severson,5 Martin Shumway,29 Mario Stanke,31 Robert L. Strausberg,6 Cheng Sun,16 Granger Sutton,6 Zhijian (Jake) Tu,22 Jose Manuel C. Tubio,7 Maria F. Unger,5 Dana L. Vanlandingham,33 Albert J. Vilella,2 Owen White,17 Jared R. White,14 Charles S. Wondji,19 Jennifer Wortman,17 Evgeny M. Zdobnov,3,4,33 Bruce Birren,14 Bruce M. Christensen,23 Frank H. Collins,5 Anthony Cornel,32 George Dimopoulos,35 Linda I. Hannick,6 Stephen Higgs,33 Gregory C. Lanzaro,34 Daniel Lawson,2 Norman H. Lee,36 Marc A. T. Muskavitch,14,37,38 Alexander S. Raikhel,1 Peter W. Atkinson1
Culex quinquefasciatus (the southern house mosquito) is an important mosquito vector of viruses such as West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis virus, as well as of nematodes that cause lymphatic filariasis. C. quinquefasciatus is one species within the Culex pipiens species complex and can be found throughout tropical and temperate climates of the world. The ability of C. quinquefasciatus to take blood meals from birds, livestock, and humans contributes to its ability to vector pathogens between species. Here, we describe the genomic sequence of C. quinquefasciatus: Its repertoire of 18,883 protein-coding genes is 22% larger than that of Aedes aegypti and 52% larger than that of Anopheles gambiae with multiple gene-family expansions, including olfactory and gustatory receptors, salivary gland genes, and genes associated with xenobiotic detoxification.
