Recent advances and future perspectives in vector-omics

Compton, Austin; Sharakhov, Igor V.; Tu, Zhijian

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2020.05.006

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Human malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, with members of the species complex A. gambiae recognized as the main vectors in Africa ( 24 ). Controlling and targeting vector populations is key in the ongoing efforts to fight malaria, but further progress toward alternative molecular-based approaches has been hampered by the lack of epigenetic and functional genomic studies in mosquitoes ( 25 , 26 ). Indeed, the regulatory genome of Anopheles remains practically unexplored and the regulatory networks of most genes in the A. gambiae genome are unknown, including the genes involved in important biological processes such as mosquito insecticide resistance and immunity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The regulatory genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae: integrating chromatin accessibility and gene expression

Ruiz

Ranford-Cartwright

Gómez-Díaz

2021

NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are primary human malaria vectors, but we know very little about their mechanisms of transcriptional regulation. We profiled chromatin accessibility by the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq) in laboratory-reared A. gambiae mosquitoes experimentally infected with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. By integrating ATAC-seq, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data, we showed a positive correlation between accessibility at promoters and introns, gene expression and active histone marks. By comparing expression and chromatin structure patterns in different tissues, we were able to infer cis-regulatory elements controlling tissue-specific gene expression and to predict the in vivo binding sites of relevant transcription factors. The ATAC-seq assay also allowed the precise mapping of active regulatory regions, including novel transcription start sites and enhancers that were annotated to mosquito immune-related genes. Not only is this study important for advancing our understanding of mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in the mosquito vector of human malaria, but the information we produced also has great potential for developing new mosquito-control and anti-malaria strategies.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The regulatory genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae: integrating chromatin accessibility and gene expression

Ruiz

Ranford-Cartwright

Gómez-Díaz

2021

NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Successes with An. darlingi colonization [162][163][164] and genome sequence and annotation [165] and similar advances with other neotropical anophelines [166][167][168][169] offer optimism that these technologies will soon be transferred to neotropical Amazonian malaria vectors.…”

Section: Challenges Alternatives and Transfer To Neotropical Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector-Focused Approaches to Curb Malaria Transmission in the Brazilian Amazon: An Overview of Current and Future Challenges and Strategies

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Brazil, malaria transmission is mostly confined to the Amazon, where substantial progress has been made towards disease control in the past decade. Vector control has been historically considered a fundamental part of the main malaria control programs implemented in Brazil. However, the conventional vector-control tools have been insufficient to control or eliminate local vector populations due to the complexity of the Amazonian rainforest environment and ecological features of malaria vector species in the Amazon, especially Anopheles darlingi. Malaria elimination in Brazil and worldwide eradication will require a combination of conventional and new approaches that takes into account the regional specificities of vector populations and malaria transmission dynamics. Here we present an overview on both conventional and novel promising vector-focused tools to curb malaria transmission in the Brazilian Amazon. If well designed and employed, vector-based approaches may improve the implementation of malaria-control programs, particularly in remote or difficult-to-access areas and in regions where existing interventions have been unable to eliminate disease transmission. However, much effort still has to be put into research expanding the knowledge of neotropical malaria vectors to set the steppingstones for the optimization of conventional and development of innovative vector-control tools.

show abstract

“…Studies on Drosophila have been a rich source of information about the way the metazoan genome is organized and compartmentalized at the 3D level (Sexton et al, 2012;Rowley et al, 2017) and the functional consequences of changes in genome topology, with many general principles of Drosophila chromatin organization and dynamics being evolutionary conserved (Rowley et al, 2017). Similar studies in disease-vector mosquitoes have just started to emerge (Sharakhov and Sharakhova, 2015;Wiegmann and Richards, 2018;Li F. et al, 2019;Ruzzante et al, 2019;Compton et al, 2020b). Traditional physical mapping approaches, such as FISH and optical mapping, have been applied in Ae.…”

Section: D Genome Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include malaria, dengue, filariasis, or Zika, West Nile, and Chikungunya fevers, which cause millions of deaths yearly in Africa, Asia, and South America. Despite the fact that there have been considerable advances in the field of mosquito genomics, little is known about their regulatory genome and the epigenetic regulation of gene expression, in particular in the context of an infection (Shaw and Catteruccia, 2019;Compton et al, 2020b). These gaps of knowledge are critical, considering the natural variability in their transmission potential (i.e., vector competence, which is dependent on environmental factors), and their ability to adapt rapidly to new environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chromatin Structure and Function in Mosquitoes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The principles and function of chromatin and nuclear architecture have been extensively studied in model organisms, such as Drosophila melanogaster. However, little is known about the role of these epigenetic processes in transcriptional regulation in other insects including mosquitoes, which are major disease vectors and a worldwide threat for human health. Some of these life-threatening diseases are malaria, which is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes; dengue fever, which is caused by an arbovirus mainly transmitted by Aedes aegypti; and West Nile fever, which is caused by an arbovirus transmitted by Culex spp. In this contribution, we review what is known about chromatin-associated mechanisms and the 3D genome structure in various mosquito vectors, including Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex spp. We also discuss the similarities between epigenetic mechanisms in mosquitoes and the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, and advocate that the field could benefit from the cross-application of state-of-the-art functional genomic technologies that are well-developed in the fruit fly. Uncovering the mosquito regulatory genome can lead to the discovery of unique regulatory networks associated with the parasitic life-style of these insects. It is also critical to understand the molecular interactions between the vectors and the pathogens that they transmit, which could hold the key to major breakthroughs on the fight against mosquito-borne diseases. Finally, it is clear that epigenetic mechanisms controlling mosquito environmental plasticity and evolvability are also of utmost importance, particularly in the current context of globalization and climate change.

show abstract

Recent advances and future perspectives in vector-omics

Cited by 8 publications

References 63 publications

The regulatory genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae: integrating chromatin accessibility and gene expression

The regulatory genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae: integrating chromatin accessibility and gene expression

Vector-Focused Approaches to Curb Malaria Transmission in the Brazilian Amazon: An Overview of Current and Future Challenges and Strategies

Chromatin Structure and Function in Mosquitoes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About