Response of Aedes aegypti larvae to an intoxication with a natural essential oil

Aedes aegypti is an urban mosquito, vector of several arboviruses that cause severe diseases in hundreds of million people each year. The resistance to neurotoxic insecticides developed by Ae. aegypti populations worldwide has contributed to failures in vector control campaigns, increasing the impact of arbovirus diseases. Plant-derived essential oils with larvicidal activity could be an attractive alternative for vector control. This study employed transcriptome analysis to compare gene expression in Ae. aegypti larvae under basal conditions or after 14h of exposure to Eucalyptus camaldulensis essential oil, by using RNA-seq. We found differential expressed genes encoding for cuticle proteins, fatty-acid synthesis, membrane transporters and detoxificant related gene families (i.e. heat shock proteins, cytochromes P450, glutathion transferases, UDP-glycosyltransferases and ABC transporters). On the other side, the expression of carboxyl/cholinesterases family members, which are centrally involved in detoxification of neurotoxics in Ae. aegypti, was not affected. Our work contributes to the understanding of the physiological response of Ae. aegypti larvae to an intoxication with a natural toxic derived from Eucalyptus.