The research focused on the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, recognized for two forms: pipiens, which thrives in open, seasonal environments and bites birds, and molestus, which prospers in underground urban habitats, mates in confined spaces, bites humans, and lays eggs without a blood meal. Notably, molestus is morphologically identical to pipiens but distinguished by its behavior and is considered a significant vector for illnesses such as West Nile virus.
The commonly accepted narrative suggests C. pipiens f. molestus evolved rapidly in the London Underground during World War II. However, records indicate that mosquitoes with similar behavioral traits existed centuries earlier, inhabiting European cellars and Mediterranean surface-level environments long before the rise of modern cities.
To investigate the species' true origins, Yuki Haba and colleagues conducted whole-genome sequencing on 357 C. pipiens specimens, encompassing a mix of both present-day and historic samples from locations throughout Europe and North Africa. Results demonstrate that molestus' critical urban-adapted traits-like mammal biting and breeding in confined spaces-were already present in aboveground Mediterranean populations over a millennium ago, likely connected to dense agricultural settlements along the Nile.
The team's findings highlight the significance of preexisting evolutionary traits for modern urban adaptation. The authors emphasize further adaptive changes likely occurred following colonization of subterranean urban environments, suggesting multiple independent colonization events may have taken place worldwide.
In an accompanying Perspective, Jason Munshi-South and Ann Evankow analyze the broader implications of these results for understanding species adaptation in human-altered environments.
Research Report:Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
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