Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Forensic DNA Profiling for Use in Identification of Human Blood Meal Sources of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract We modified polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based forensic DNA profiling for field studies on the feeding behavior ofAedes aegypti,the principal mosquito vector of dengue virus. Human DNA was extracted from oral swabs of human subjects and from blood-engorged mosquitoes, DNA was quantified by slot blot, and alleles at variable number tandem repeats and three short tandem repeats loci were amplified by PCR. Alleles were separated electrophoretically and then visualized by silver staining. A custom software program was written to match DNA fingerprints of potential human hosts to allelic profiles detected in engorged mosquitoes, and to calculate error rates for identification of human hosts of single and multiple-host blood meals. At 29°C in the laboratory, human DNA recovered from mosquito blood meals declined an average of 67% 8 h after feeding and 90% after 24 h. We obtained complete allelic profiles from seven of 10 mosquitoes collected after 24 h. In a field trial, complete DNA profiles were o...