Molecular and Evolutionary Analysis of Circadian Rhythms in Insect Vectors

Corresponding author e-mail: apeixoto@ioc.fiocruz.br Blood-sucking insects such as sandflies and mosquitoes are vectors of pathogens that cause a number of important diseases. The daily activity patterns of these insect vectors are controlled by the circadian clock. However, despite the medical importance of hematophagous insects, very little is known about the molecular genetics of their biological rhythms. In the model insect species Drosophila melanogaster , a number of genes have been implicated in the control of circadian rhythms and the basic mechanism consists of transcriptional negative feedback loops that control the cyclic expression of some of their components. Our group is studying the molecular and evolutionary genetics of circadian rhythms in insect vectors of tropical diseases. Initially, we analyzed the locomotor activity rhythms and clock gene expression in the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae), the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Latin America. We are currently studying the molecular control of circadian rhythms in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). We are comparing the activity rhythms and circadian expression of the main clock genes in Aedes aegypti , a diurnal mosquito that is vector of dengue and yellow fever, and in Culex quinquefasciatus , a nocturnal mosquito vector of filariasis. Some of the results our group has obtained studying these insect vectors will be presented. Publication History Article published online: 16 June 2026 © 2009. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil