Assessing connectivity despite high diversity in island populations of a malaria mosquito

Bergey, Christina M.; Lukindu, Martin; Wiltshire, Rachel M.; Fontaine, Michaël C.; Kayondo, Jonathan; Besansky, Nora J.

doi:10.1111/eva.12878

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 95 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our results are consistent with studies of mosquitoes on other oceanic islands 27 , 46 . Similar work analyzing anopheline mosquitoes on lacustrine islands in Lake Victoria suggest a much lower degree of genetic isolation 56 , which is not surprising considering their geographic proximity to the mainland.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anopheles coluzzii is a major malaria vector throughout its distribution in west-central Africa. Here we present a whole-genome study of 142 specimens from nine countries in continental Africa and three islands in the Gulf of Guinea. This sample set covers a large part of this species’ geographic range. Our population genomic analyses included a description of the structure of mainland populations, island populations, and connectivity between them. Three genetic clusters are identified among mainland populations and genetic distances (FST) fits an isolation-by-distance model. Genomic analyses are applied to estimate the demographic history and ancestry for each island. Taken together with the unique biogeography and history of human occupation for each island, they present a coherent explanation underlying levels of genetic isolation between mainland and island populations. We discuss the relationship of our findings to the suitability of São Tomé and Príncipe islands as candidate sites for potential field trials of genetic-based malaria control strategies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, there are no pyrethroid-resistance alleles in our Bioko samples, and these were collected in 2002, at a time when target-site resistance alleles were present in mainland populations, so the rate of contemporary migration between Bioko and mainland populations remains an open question. A recent study of A. gambiae populations on the Lake Victoria islands, separated from mainland Uganda by 4-50 km, found evidence for isolation between island and mainland populations, as well as between individual islands (Bergey et al 2020). However, some selective sweeps at insecticide-resistance loci had spread through both mainland and island populations; thus, isolation is not complete, and some contemporary gene flow occurs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome variation and population structure among 1142 mosquitoes of the African malaria vector species Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii

Genomes¹

2020

Genome Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Anopheles gambiae 1000 Genomes Consortium 1 Mosquito control remains a central pillar of efforts to reduce malaria burden in sub-Saharan Africa. However, insecticide resistance is entrenched in malaria vector populations, and countries with a high malaria burden face a daunting challenge to sustain malaria control with a limited set of surveillance and intervention tools. Here we report on the second phase of a project to build an open resource of high-quality data on genome variation among natural populations of the major African malaria vector species Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii. We analyzed whole genomes of 1142 individual mosquitoes sampled from the wild in 13 African countries, as well as a further 234 individuals comprising parents and progeny of 11 laboratory crosses. The data resource includes high-confidence single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) calls at 57 million variable sites, genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) calls, and haplotypes phased at biallelic SNPs. We use these data to analyze genetic population structure and characterize genetic diversity within and between populations. We illustrate the utility of these data by investigating species differences in isolation by distance, genetic variation within proposed gene drive target sequences, and patterns of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. This data resource provides a foundation for developing new operational systems for molecular surveillance and for accelerating research and development of new vector control tools. It also provides a unique resource for the study of population genomics and evolutionary biology in eukaryotic species with high levels of genetic diversity under strong anthropogenic evolutionary pressures.

show abstract

“…Sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 instrument (Illumina, San Diego, California, USA) at the UC Davis DNA Technologies Core facility. Methods used for genome sequencing of individuals from other sources are described elsewhere [47,50].…”

Section: (C) Island Size and Topographymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Victoria study [47] were downloaded and converted to FastQ files using BEDTools v.2.2 [52]. All specimens were mapped to the reference AgamP4 [53,54] using BWA-MEM v0.7.15 [55] with default settings.…”

Section: (C) Island Size and Topographymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Selection of Sites for Field Trials of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes with Gene Drive

Lanzaro

Campos

Crepeau

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Novel malaria control strategies using genetically engineered mosquitoes (GEMs) are on the horizon. Population modification is one approach wherein mosquitoes are engineered with genes rendering them refractory to the malaria parasite coupled with a low-threshold, Cas9-based gene drive. When released into a wild vector population, GEMs preferentially transmit these beneficial genes to their offspring, ultimately modifying a vector population into a non-vector one. Deploying this technology awaits evaluation including ecologically contained field trials. Here, we consider a process for site selection, the first critical step in designing a trial. Our goal is to identify a site that maximizes prospects for success, minimizes risk, and serves as a fair, valid, and convincing test of efficacy and impacts of a GEM product intended for large-scale deployment in Africa. We base site selection on geographical, geological, and biological, rather than social or legal, criteria. We recognize the latter as critically important but not preeminent. We propose physical islands as being the best candidates for a GEM field trial and present an evaluation of 22 African islands. We consider geographic and genetic isolation, biological complexity, island size, topography, and identify two island groups that satisfy key criteria for ideal GEM field trial sites.

show abstract

Assessing connectivity despite high diversity in island populations of a malaria mosquito

Cited by 12 publications

References 95 publications

The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

Genome variation and population structure among 1142 mosquitoes of the African malaria vector species Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii

Selection of Sites for Field Trials of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes with Gene Drive

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About