Genome-wide expression profiles and identification of upregulated genes in larval Culex quinquefasciatus during exposure to permethrin

The Southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, is a vector of the causative agents of many diseases including West Nile Fever, St. Louis Encephalitis, and lymphatic filariasis. In order to manage the spread of these diseases, vector control efforts rely heavily on insecticides, including pyrethroids, namely permethrin. In our study we investigated the changes in the gene expression profiles of a highly-permethrin resistant strain of Cx. quinquefasciatus during constant exposure to permethrin at the LC-0, LC-50, and LC-70 rates, which killed 0, 50, and 70% of all larvae, respectively. Overall, we identified several genes that were up-regulated including detoxification genes such as cytochrome P450s as well as genes that were down-regulated. Overall design: Analysis of gene expression in Cx. quinquefasciatus using RNASeq. Data were analyzed using the Tophat-Cufflinks-Cuffdiff pipeline from the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Univ. Maryland College Park.