scholarly journals Ecological plasticity to ions concentration determines genetic response and dominance of Anopheles coluzzii larvae in urban coastal habitats of Central Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil M. Longo-Pendy ◽  
Billy Tene-Fossog ◽  
Robert E. Tawedi ◽  
Ousman Akone-Ella ◽  
Celine Toty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Plastic Response ◽  
Coastal Habitats ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Ecological Plasticity ◽  
Rural Sites

AbstractIn Central Africa, the malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii is predominant in urban and coastal habitats. However, little is known about the environmental factors that may be involved in this process. Here, we performed an analysis of 28 physicochemical characteristics of 59 breeding sites across 5 urban and rural sites in coastal areas of Central Africa. We then modelled the relative frequency of An. coluzzii larvae to these physicochemical parameters in order to investigate environmental patterns. Then, we assessed the expression variation of 10 candidate genes in An. coluzzii, previously incriminated with insecticide resistance and osmoregulation in urban settings. Our results confirmed the ecological plasticity of An. coluzzii larvae to breed in a large range of aquatic conditions and its predominance in breeding sites rich in ions. Gene expression patterns were comparable between urban and rural habitats, suggesting a broad response to ions concentrations of whatever origin. Altogether, An. coluzzii exhibits a plastic response to occupy both coastal and urban habitats. This entails important consequences for malaria control in the context of the rapid urban expansion in Africa in the coming years.

scholarly journals Coastal regions of the northern Antarctic Peninsula are key for gentoo populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 20200708
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Korczak-Abshire ◽  
Jefferson T. Hinke ◽  
Gennadi Milinevsky ◽  
Mariana A. Juáres ◽  
George M. Watters
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
Gentoo Penguin ◽  
Latitudinal Gradients ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Coastal Habitats ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Latitudinal Range

Southern Ocean ecosystems are rapidly changing due to climate variability. An apparent beneficiary of such change in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua , which has increased its population size and expanded its range southward in the last 20 years. To better understand how this species has responded to large-scale changes, we tracked individuals during the non-breeding winter period from five colonies across the latitudinal range of breeding sites in the WAP, including from a recently established colony. Results highlight latitudinal gradients in movement; strong associations with shallow, coastal habitats along the entire Antarctic Peninsula; and movements that are independent of, yet constrained by, sea ice. It is clear that coastal habitats essential to gentoo penguins during the breeding season are similarly critical during winter. Larger movements of birds from northern colonies in the WAP further suggest that leap-frog migration may influence colonization events by facilitating nest-area prospecting and use of new haul-out sites. Our results support efforts to develop a marine protected area around the WAP. Winter habitats used by gentoo penguins outline high priority areas for improving the management of the spatio-temporally concentrated krill ( Euphausia superba ) fishery that operates in this region during winter.

scholarly journals Impact of transposable elements on the genome of the urban malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Vargas-Chavez ◽  
Neil Michel Longo Pendy ◽  
Sandrine E. Nsango ◽  
Laura Aguilera ◽  
Diego Ayala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTBackgroundAnopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has colonized the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments is partly due to an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. While some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation, including chromosome rearrangements and introgressions, are known, the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet.ResultsTo better understand the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, we sequenced using long-reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated the complete set of TEs and identified 64 previously undescribed families. TEs were non-randomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity. Moreover, we identified several TE insertions providing promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes.ConclusionsThe analysis of multiple genomes sequenced using long-read technologies allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotations in this species to date. We found that TEs have an impact in both the genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes in An. coluzzii. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.

scholarly journals Investigation of the seasonal microbiome of Anopheles coluzzii in Mali

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J Krajacich ◽  
Diana L Huestis ◽  
Adama Dao ◽  
Alpha S Yaro ◽  
Moussa Diallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Bacterial Composition ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Critical Gap ◽  
Bacterial Microbiome ◽  
Initial Hypothesis

The poorly understood mechanisms of the seasonal maintenance of Anopheles spp. mosquitoes through the dry season in Africa remain a critical gap in our knowledge of Plasmodium disease transmission. While it is thought that adult mosquitoes remain in a dormant state throughout this seven-month dry season, the nature of this state remains unknown and has largely not been recapitulated in laboratory settings. To elucidate possible life history traits allowing for this phenotype, the spatiotemporal change in the microbiome of mosquitoes in the dry and wet seasons in Mali was analyzed by sequencing the 16S ribosome bacterial region in whole bodies of adult mosquitoes collected from two locations with varying water availability. These locations were a village near the Niger River with year-round water sources (N’Gabakoro, “Riparian”), and an area closer to the Sahara with highly seasonal breeding sites (Thierola Area, “Sahelian”). The 16S bacterial data consisted of 2057 unique sequence variants in 426 genera across 184 families. With these, we found several compositional differences that were seasonally and spatially linked. Counter to our initial hypothesis, there was a more pronounced seasonal difference in the bacterial microbiome in the Riparian than Sahelian area. These major seasonal shifts were in Ralstonia, Sphingorhabdus, and Duganella spp. bacteria that are usually soil and water-associated, indicating that these changes may be from bacteria acquired in the larval environment, rather than during adulthood. In the Sahelian dry season mosquitoes, there was a unique intracellular bacteria, Anaplasma, which likely was acquired through non-human blood feeding. Coupled with this finding, cytochrome B analysis showed a greater heterogeneity in host choice of An. coluzzii independent of season in the Thierola area compared to N’Gabakoro (77.5% vs. 94.6% human-origin blood meal, respectively), which may indicate a relaxation of anthropophily in some locations. This study highlights the diversity present in the bacterial composition of individual mosquitoes, characterizes the spatial and seasonal differences in this composition, and indicates some possible qualitative biomarkers in areas of intense seasonal change.

scholarly journals Oviposition Behavior of Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles coluzzii Females According to the Ovitrap Color and Presence of Fertilizer in Breeding Sites

2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Djiappi-Tchamen Borel ◽  
Nchoutpouen Elysée ◽  
Talipouo Abdoul ◽  
NKahe Diane Leslie ◽  
Bamou Roland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Culex Quinquefasciatus ◽  
Oviposition Behavior ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Breeding Sites

scholarly journals Inductive inference of novel protein-molecule interactions using Heterogeneous Graph Transformer (HGT) AutoEncoder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Arrigoni
Keyword(s):  
Link Prediction ◽  
Inductive Inference ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Protein Molecule ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Functional Information ◽  
Molecule Interactions ◽  
Molecule Interaction ◽  
Novel Protein

Protein-molecule interactions are promoted by the physicochemical characteristics of the actors involved, but structural information alone does not capture expression patterns, localization and pharmacokinetics. In this work we propose an integrative strategy for protein-molecule interaction discovery that combines different layers of information through the use of convolutional operators on graph, and frame the problem as missing link prediction task on an heterogeneous graph constituted by three node types: 1) molecules 2) proteins 3) diseases. Physicochemical information of the actors are encoded using shallow embedding techniques (SeqVec, Mol2Vec, Doc2Vec respectively) and are supplied as feature vectors to a Graph AutoEncoer (GAE) that uses a Heterogeneous Graph Transformer (HGT) in the encoder module. We show in this work that HGT Autoencoder can be used to accurately recapitulate the protein-molecule interactions set and propose novel relationships in inductive settings that are grounded in biological and functional information extracted from the graph.

scholarly journals A new species in the major malaria vector complex sheds light on reticulated species evolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maite G. Barrón ◽  
Christophe Paupy ◽  
Nil Rahola ◽  
Ousman Akone-Ella ◽  
Marc F. Ngangue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Anopheles Gambiae ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Vectorial Capacity ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
History Of ◽  
Species Evolution ◽  
A New Species

Abstract Complexes of closely related species provide key insights into the rapid and independent evolution of adaptive traits. Here, we described and studied Anopheles fontenillei sp.n., a new species in the Anopheles gambiae complex that we recently discovered in the forested areas of Gabon, Central Africa. Our analysis placed the new taxon in the phylogenetic tree of the An. gambiae complex, revealing important introgression events with other members of the complex. Particularly, we detected recent introgression, with Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii, of genes directly involved in vectorial capacity. Moreover, genome analysis of the new species allowed us to clarify the evolutionary history of the 3La inversion. Overall, An. fontenillei sp.n. analysis improved our understanding of the relationship between species within the An. gambiae complex, and provided insight into the evolution of vectorial capacity traits that are relevant for the successful control of malaria in Africa.

scholarly journals Physicochemical Characteristics of Four Limonene-Based Nanoemulsions and Their Larvicidal Properties against Two Mosquito Species, Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens molestus

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 740
Author(s):  
Ioanna Theochari ◽  
Athanasios Giatropoulos ◽  
Vassiliki Papadimitriou ◽  
Vasileios Karras ◽  
Georgios Balatsos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Solubility ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Culex Pipiens Molestus

Negative impacts on the environment from the continuous use of synthetic insecticides against mosquitoes has driven research towards more ecofriendly products. Phytochemicals, classified as low-risk substances, have been recognized as potential larvicides of mosquitoes; however, problems related to water solubility and stability are limiting factors for their use in mosquito control programs in the field. In this context, many researchers have focused on formulating essential oils in nanoemulsions, exploiting innovative nanotechnology. In the current study, we prepared 4 (R)-(+)-limonene oil-in-water nanoemulsions using low and high energy methods, and we evaluated their physicochemical characteristics (e.g., viscosity, stability, mean droplet diameter, polydispersity index) and their bioactivity against larvae of two mosquito species of great medical importance, namely, Cx. pipiens molestus and Ae. albopictus. According to the dose–response bioassays with the limonene-based nanoemulsions and pure limonene (dissolved in organic solvent), the tested nanoformulations improved the activity of limonene against Ae. albopictus larvae, while the performance of limonene was either the same or better than limonene against Cx. pipiens molestus, depending on the applied system. Overall, we achieved the production of limonene-based delivery nanosystems, with sufficient lethal properties against mosquito larvae to consider them promising larvicidal formulations applicable to mosquito breeding sites.

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

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melina Campos ◽  
Mark Hanemaaijer ◽  
Hans Gripkey ◽  
Travis C. Collier ◽  
Yoosook Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Genomic Analyses

AbstractAnopheles 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.

scholarly journals Distribution of Members of the Anopheles Gamibiae s.l. In Oyo State, South West Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-144
Author(s):  
Adedapo O. Adeogun ◽  
Kehinde O.K. Popoola ◽  
Abiodun K. Olakiigbe ◽  
Samson T. Awolola
Keyword(s):  
Vector Control ◽  
Anopheles Gambiae ◽  
Anopheles Arabiensis ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
The State ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Anopheles Gambiae S.S ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Anopheles Mosquitoes ◽  
Anopheles Gambiae S.L

Background: Members of the Anopheles gambiae s.l. remain the most efficient vectors of malaria parasite in Africa. However, for timely and effective vector control activities, the distribution of these important vectors in local communities is crucial. We therefore determine the distribution of the members of Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Oyo State, Nigeria Methods: Larval stages of Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from identified mosquito breeding sites in six localities (Oluyole, Eruwa, Oyo, Ojoo, Bodija, and Ogbomoso) in Oyo State and reared to adults. Three to five days old adult emergence were identified morphologically using standard methods. A total of 100 mosquitoes were selected from each of localities for molecular analysis. DNA were extracted and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR-ID) followed by restriction endonucleases digestion was used for molecular identification. Results: A total of 58 larval breeding sites were sampled out of which 12 (20.7%) had Anophelines only, 21 (36.2%) contained Culicines only and the remaining 25 (43.1%) had both Anophelines and Culicines. The mosquitoes were mostly found in footprints, followed by tire tracks, pools, puddle and ponds. The habitat type distribution for Anopheline and Culicines were not different (χ2=5.25, DF=5, P>0.01). A total of 1,725 Anophelines emerged from the collection out of which, 823 were females. All the female samples were morphologically identified as members of the Anopheles gambiae s.l.. A total of 600 (72.9%) of the female Anopheline population was subjected to PCR. PCR-ID showed that the mosquito populations contained higher numbers of Anopheles arabiensis (58%) than Anopheles gambiae s.s. (42%). Enzyme digest indicate that samples from Oluyole, Iwo road and Bodija were man-ly the M form (now called An. coluzzii), while both M (An. colizzii) and S (An. gambiae) form occur in sympatry in Oyo town and Eruwa. Conclusion: This study presents information on the distribution of Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae in Oyo State. This has implication on the vector control activities in the State as members of these Anopheles mosquitoes exhibit varying feeding behaviours, transmission pattern and resistance profiles. Such information is useful in planning vector control activities for the State

scholarly journals Comprehensive Ecological and Geographic Characterization of Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Microbiomes in African Anopheles

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugeni Belda Cuesta ◽  
Boubacar Coulibaly ◽  
Tullu Bukhari ◽  
Karin Eiglmeier ◽  
Raymond Kone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
West Africa ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Taxonomic Assignment ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Laboratory Colonies

Exposure of mosquitoes to numerous eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes in their associated microbiomes has probably helped drive the evolution of the innate immune system. To our knowledge, a metagenomic catalog of the eukaryotic microbiome has not been reported from any insect. Here we employ a novel approach to preferentially deplete host 18S ribosomal RNA gene amplicons to reveal the composition of the eukaryotic microbial communities of Anopheles larvae sampled in Kenya, Burkina Faso and Republic of Guinea (Conakry). We identified 453 eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) associated with Anopheles larvae in nature, but an average of 45% of the 18S rRNA sequences clustered into OTUs that lacked a taxonomic assignment in the Silva database. Thus, the Anopheles microbiome contains a striking proportion of novel eukaryotic taxa. Using sequence similarity matching and de novo phylogenetic placement, the fraction of unassigned sequences was reduced to an average of 4%, and many unclassified OTUs were assigned as relatives of known taxa. A novel taxon of the genus Ophryocystis in the phylum Apicomplexa (which also includes Plasmodium) is widespread in Anopheles larvae from East and West Africa. Notably, Ophryocystis is present at fluctuating abundance among larval breeding sites, consistent with the expected pattern of an epidemic pathogen. Species richness of the eukaryotic microbiome was not significantly different across sites from East to West Africa, while species richness of the prokaryotic microbiome was significantly lower in West Africa. Laboratory colonies of Anopheles coluzzii harbor 26 eukaryotic OTUs, of which 38% (n = 10) are shared with wild populations, while 16 OTUs are unique to the laboratory colonies. Genetically distinct An. coluzzii colonies co-housed in the same facility maintain different prokaryotic microbiome profiles, suggesting a persistent host genetic influence on microbiome composition. These results provide a foundation to understand the role of the Anopheles eukaryotic microbiome in vector immunity and pathogen transmission. We hypothesize that prevalent apicomplexans such as Ophryocystis associated with Anopheles could induce interference or competition against Plasmodium within the vector. This and other members of the eukaryotic microbiome may offer candidates for new vector control tools.

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