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Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens (CeZAP)
The increasing incidence of arboviral diseases in tropical endemic areas and their emergence in new temperate countries is one of the most important challenges that Public Health agencies are currently facing. Because mosquitoes are poikilotherms, shifts in temperature influence physiological functions besides egg viability. These traits impact not only vector density, but also their interaction with their hosts and arboviruses. As such the relationship among mosquitoes, arboviral diseases and temperature is complex. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the thermal biology of Aedes invasive mosquitoes, highlighting differences among species. We also emphasize the need to expand knowledge on the variability in thermal sensitivity across populations within a species, especially in light of climate change that encompasses increase not only in mean environmental temperature but also in the frequency of hot and cold snaps. Finally, we suggest a novel experimental approach to investigate the molecular architecture of thermal adaptation in mosquitoes.