kdr and ace resistance observed in Culex pipiens complex species distributing in artificial and semi-artificial areas

Culex pipiens L., 1758 (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the most important pests and disease vectors in the world. It is of major importance to monitor the development of insecticide resistance in order to effectively control. This study investigated the presence of mutations in specific loci of the vgsc (kdr L1014F/C) and ace-1 (G119S, F290V) gene, associated with insecticide resistance in Culex pipiens collected from nine provinces in central and eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye in the 2020 active season. For kdr, L1014F mutation was determined for each region with three different silent mutations for wild and resistant type alleles, while L1014C was not recorded in any of the analyzed populations. For ace-1, substitution F290V was detected at a low frequency in heterozygosity, while G119S was more widespread, in the analyzed populations. For ace-1, G119I (6 populations) and G119N (5 populations) substitution was firstly described. Types of mutations differences related to the resistance between artificial sites and agricultural fields were not significantly different.