Enhanced Zika virus susceptibility of globally invasive <i>Aedes aegypti</i> populations

Abstract

The drivers and patterns of zoonotic virus emergence in the human population are poorly understood. The mosquito <i>Aedes aegypti</i> is a major arbovirus vector native to Africa that invaded most of the world's tropical belt over the past four centuries, after the evolution of a "domestic" form that specialized in biting humans and breeding in water storage containers. Here, we show that human specialization and subsequent spread of <i>A. aegypti</i> out of Africa were accompanied by an increase in its intrinsic ability to acquire and transmit the emerging human pathogen Zika virus. Thus, the recent evolution and global expansion of <i>A. aegypti</i> promoted arbovirus emergence not solely through increased vector-host contact but also as a result of enhanced vector susceptibility.