Comparison of biochemical and molecular tests for detecting insecticide resistance due to insensitive acetylcholinesterase in Culex quinquefasciatus.

Insecticide resistance to organophosphates and carbamates can be the result of changes in acetylcholinesterase activity conferred by the ACE-1 mutation. Detection of this altered target site mutation is important in guiding informed decisions for resistance management. In this study we compared a competitive enzyme assay with a polymerase chain reaction assay utilizing a restriction enzyme. Both assays detected the ACE-1 mutation in Culex quinquefasciatus and agreement was 100%. The costs and benefits of each assay are presented.