Lucati F. auteur aut IRD Delacour S. auteur aut IRD Palmer J. R. B. auteur aut IRD Caner J. auteur aut IRD Oltra A. auteur aut IRD Paredes-Esquivel C. auteur aut IRD Mariani S. auteur aut IRD Escartin S. auteur aut IRD Roiz David auteur aut IRD Collantes F. auteur aut IRD Bengoa M. auteur aut IRD Montalvo T. auteur aut IRD Delgado J. A. auteur aut IRD Eritja R. auteur aut IRD Lucientes J. auteur aut IRD Timor A. A. auteur aut IRD Bartumeus F. auteur aut IRD Ventura M. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is one of the most invasive species in the world. Native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, over the past 30 years it has rapidly spread throughout tropical and temperate regions of the world. Its dramatic expansion has resulted in public health concerns as a consequence of its vector competence for at least 16 viruses. Previous studies showed that Ae. albopictus spread has been facilitated by human-mediated transportation, but much remains unknown about how this has affected its genetic attributes. Here we examined the factors that contributed to shaping the current genetic constitution of Ae. albopictus in the Iberian Peninsula, where the species was first found in 2004, by combining population genetics and Bayesian modelling. We found that both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers showed a lack of genetic structure and the presence of worldwide dominant haplotypes, suggesting regular introductions from abroad. Mitochondrial DNA showed little genetic diversity compared to nuclear DNA, likely explained by infection with maternally transmitted bacteria of the genus Wolbachia. Multilevel models revealed that greater mosquito fluxes (estimated from commuting patterns and tiger mosquito population distribution) and spatial proximity between sampling sites were associated with lower nuclear genetic distance, suggesting that rapid short- and medium-distance dispersal is facilitated by humans through vehicular traffic. This study highlights the significant role of human transportation in shaping the genetic attributes of Ae. albopictus and promoting regional gene flow, and underscores the need for a territorially integrated surveillance across scales of this disease-carrying mosquito. specialized ESPAGNE 052 12 1 20682 [15 ] 2022 2045-2322 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010088111 10.1038/s41598-022-24963-3 2045-2322 [F B010088111] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010088111 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2023-07/010088111.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2023-07-06 2025-03-10 fdi:010088111 fre