Mosquito Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
The female mosquito's remarkable ability to hunt humans and to transmit pathogens relies on their unique biology. Here, we present the Mosquito Cell Atlas, a comprehensive single-nucleus RNA sequencing dataset of more than 367,000 nuclei from 44 samples comprising 19 tissues of adult female and male Aedes aegypti, providing cellular resolution of mosquito biology. These include sensory tissues that recognize cues given off by host vertebrates, central nervous systems and motor outputs that control blood feeding behavior, digestive tissues for blood and plant nectar, salivary glands that transmit vector-borne pathogens, and whole body regions to cover additional cell types. We performed careful sample-tailored processing and analysis, given limited a priori knowledge of cell markers or the cellular composition of these tissues. We annotated the cell types with the assistance of a global team of collaborators who are tissue research experts in both Aedes aegypti and Drosophila melanogaster. We collected female brain samples at a range of time points post-blood feeding and identified glia as key nodes of transcriptional change. We aim to provide a foundational cell atlas for investigating the molecular mechanisms driving mosquito biology and behavior. This work could help identify potential molecular targets that will be invaluable for developing interventions to mitigate the spread of deadly pathogens from mosquitoes to humans.