Aedes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iAedes
Aedes aegypti
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Family: Culicidae Tribe: Aedini Genus: Aedes Meigen 1818
Species
Aedes albopictus Aedes aegypti etc.

This page is about the genus of mosquito, for the Roman building see aedes (Roman)

Aedes is a genus of mosquito originally found in tropical and subtropical zones. The name comes from the Greek aēdēs, meaning unpleasant or odious, so called because of the diseases this mosquito transmits, which include dengue fever and yellow fever. In Polynesia, the species Aedes polynesiensis is responsible for the transmission of human lymphatic filariasis including species of Brugia as well as others. The genus was named by Johann Wilhelm Meigen in 1818. There are presently some controversial moves afoot to abolish Aedes as a generic name and to replace it with Stegomyia. Some species of Aedes (the Asian tiger mosquito) have been introduced to the US and have spread as far north as Iowa.

The Aedes has black and white stripe markings on its body and legs.

Currently, the Aedes aegypti genome is being sequenced by The Broad Institute and TIGR, The Institute for Genomic Research. The initial assembly was released in August 2005. Annotation of the sequence is being undertaken by VectorBase and TIGR.

[edit] External links

• Boris Jobling's Aedes aegypti drawings