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Biology, Bionomics and Molecular Biology of Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann 1828 (Diptera: Culicidae), Main Malaria Vector in China.

ABSTRACT: China has set a goal to eliminate all malaria in the country by 2020, but it is unclear if current understanding of malaria vectors and transmission is sufficient to achieve this objective. Anopheles sinensis is the most widespread malaria vector specie in China, which is also responsible for vivax malaria outbreak in central China. We reviewed literature from 1954 to 2016 on An. sinensis with emphasis on biology, bionomics, and molecular biology. A total of 538 references were relevant and included. An. sienesis occurs in 29 Chinese provinces. Temperature can affect most life-history parameters. Most An. sinensis are zoophilic, but sometimes they are facultatively anthropophilic. Sporozoite analysis demonstrated An. sinensis efficacy on Plasmodium vivax transmission. An. sinensis was not stringently refractory to P. falciparum under experimental conditions, however, sporozoite was not found in salivary glands of field collected An. sinensis. The literature on An. sienesis biology and bionomics was abundant, but molecular studies, such as gene functions and mechanisms, were limited. Only 12 molecules (genes, proteins or enzymes) have been studied. In addition, there were considerable untapped omics resources for potential vector control tools. Existing information on An. sienesis could serve as a baseline for advanced research on biology, bionomics and genetics relevant to vector control strategies.

SUBMITTER: Feng X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5552724 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Biology, Bionomics and Molecular Biology of Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann 1828 (Diptera: Culicidae), Main Malaria Vector in China.

Feng Xinyu X Zhang Shaosen S Huang Fang F Zhang Li L Feng Jun J Xia Zhigui Z Zhou Hejun H Hu Wei W Zhou Shuisen S

Frontiers in microbiology 20170809

China has set a goal to eliminate all malaria in the country by 2020, but it is unclear if current understanding of malaria vectors and transmission is sufficient to achieve this objective. Anopheles sinensis is the most widespread malaria vector specie in China, which is also responsible for vivax malaria outbreak in central China. We reviewed literature from 1954 to 2016 on An. sinensis with emphasis on biology, bionomics, and molecular biology. A total of 538 references were rel ...[more]

PMID: 28848504

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Anopheles sinensis is a competent malaria vector in China. An understanding of vector population structure is important to the vector-based malaria control programs. However, there is no adequate data of A. sinensis population genetics available yet. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study used 5 microsatellite loci to estimate population genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and demographic history of A. sinensis from 14 representative localities in China. All 5 microsatellite loci were highly polymorphic across populations, with high allelic richness and heterozygosity. Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium was found in 12 populations associated with heterozygote deficits, which was likely caused by the presence of null allele and the Wahlund effect. Bayesian clustering analysis revealed two gene pools, grouping samples into two population clusters; one includes six and the other includes eight populations. Out of 14 samples, six samples were mixed with individuals from both gene pools, indicating the coexistence of two genetic units in the areas sampled. The overall differentiation between two genetic pools was moderate (F(ST)?=?0.156). Pairwise differentiation between populations were lower within clusters (F(ST)?=?0.008-0.028 in cluster I and F(ST)?=?0.004-0.048 in cluster II) than between clusters (F(ST)?=?0.120-0.201). A reduced gene flow (Nm?=?1-1.7) was detected between clusters. No evidence of isolation by distance was detected among populations neither within nor between the two clusters. There are differences in effective population size (Ne?=?14.3-infinite) across sampled populations. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Two genetic pools with moderate genetic differentiation were identified in the A. sinensis populations in China. The population divergence was not correlated with geographic distance or barrier in the range. Variable effective population size and other demographic effects of historical population perturbations could be the factors affecting the population differentiation. The structured populations may limit the migration of genes under pressures/selections, such as insecticides and immune genes against malaria.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Anopheles albimanus is a malaria vector in Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean. Although a public health threat, An. albimanus precopulatory mating behaviors are unknown. Acoustics play important roles in mosquito communication, where flight tones allow males to detect and attract potential mates. The importance of sound in precopulatory interactions has been demonstrated in Toxorhynchites brevipalpis, Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae; convergence in a shared harmonic of the wing beat frequency (WBF) during courtship is thought to increase the chance of copulation. To our knowledge, An. albimanus precopulatory acoustic behaviors have not been described to date. Here, we characterized An. albimanus (i) male and female flight tones; (ii) male-female precopulatory acoustic interactions under tethered and free flight conditions; and (iii) male-male acoustic interactions during free flight. RESULTS:We found significant increases in the WBFs of both sexes in free flight compared to when tethered. We observed harmonic convergence between 79% of tethered couples. In free flight, we identified a female-specific behavior that predicts mate rejection during male mating attempts: females increase their WBFs significantly faster during mate rejection compared to a successful copulation. This behavior consistently occurred during mate rejection regardless of prior mating attempts (from the same or differing male). During group flight, males of An. albimanus displayed two distinct flying behaviors: random flight and a swarm-like, patterned flight, each associated with distinct acoustic characteristics. In the transition from random to patterned flight, males converged their WBFs and significantly decreased flight area, male-male proximity and the periodicity of their trajectories. CONCLUSIONS:We show that tethering of An. albimanus results in major acoustic differences compared to free flight. We identify a female-specific behavior that predicts mate rejection during male mating attempts in this species and show that male groups in free flight display distinct flying patterns with unique audio and visual characteristics. This study shows that An. albimanus display acoustic features identified in other mosquito species, further suggesting that acoustic interactions provide worthwhile targets for mosquito intervention strategies. Our results provide compelling evidence for swarming in this species and suggests that acoustic signaling is important for this behavior.

Project description:BackgroundIonotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are conserved ligand-gated ion channel receptors, and ionotropic receptors (IRs) were revealed as a new family of iGluRs. Their subdivision was unsettled, and their characteristics are little known. Anopheles sinensis is a major malaria vector in eastern Asia, and its genome was recently well sequenced and annotated.MethodsWe identified iGluR genes in the An. sinensis genome, analyzed their characteristics including gene structure, genome distribution, domains and specific sites by bioinformatic methods, and deduced phylogenetic relationships of all iGluRs in An. sinensis, Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster. Based on the characteristics and phylogenetics, we generated the classification of iGluRs, and comparatively analyzed the intron number and selective pressure of three iGluRs subdivisions, iGluR group, Antenna IR and Divergent IR subfamily.ResultsA total of 56 iGluR genes were identified and named in the whole-genome of An. sinensis. These genes were located on 18 scaffolds, and 31 of them (29 being IRs) are distributed into 10 clusters that are suggested to form mainly from recent gene duplication. These iGluRs can be divided into four groups: NMDA, non-NMDA, Antenna IR and Divergent IR based on feature comparison and phylogenetic analysis. IR8a and IR25a were suggested to be monophyletic, named as Putative in the study, and moved from the Antenna subfamily in the IR family to the non-NMDA group as a sister of traditional non-NMDA. The generated iGluRs of genes (including NMDA and regenerated non-NMDA) are relatively conserved, and have a more complicated gene structure, smaller ω values and some specific functional sites. The iGluR genes in An. sinensis, An. gambiae and D. melanogaster have amino-terminal domain (ATD), ligand binding domain (LBD) and Lig_Chan domains, except for IR8a that only has the LBD and Lig_Chan domains. However, the new concept IR family of genes (including regenerated Antenna IR, and Divergent IR), especially for Divergent IR are more variable, have a simpler gene structure (intron loss phenomenon) and larger ω values, and lack specific functional sites. These IR genes have no other domains except for Antenna IRs that only have the Lig_Chan domain.ConclusionsThis study provides a comprehensive information framework for iGluR genes in An. sinensis, and generated the classification of iGluRs by feature and bioinformatics analyses. The work lays the foundation for further functional study of these genes.

Project description:BackgroundAnopheles sinensis is a primary vector for Plasmodium vivax malaria in most regions of China. A comprehensive understanding of genetic variation and structure of the mosquito would be of benefit to the vector control and in a further attempt to contribute to malaria elimination in China. However, there is only inadequate population genetic data pertaining to An. sinensis currently.MethodsGenetic variations and structure among populations of An. sinensis was examined and analyzed based on the nucleotide sequences of a 662 nt variable region of the mitochondrial cox1 gene among 15 populations from 20 collection sites in China.ResultsA total of 453 individuals in 15 populations were analyzed. The cox1 gene sequences were aligned, and 247 haplotypes were detected, 41 of these shared between populations. The range of haplotype diversity was from 0.709 (Yunnan) to 0.998 (Anhui). The genealogic network showed that the haplotypes were divided into two clusters, cluster I was at a high level of homoplasy, while cluster II included almost all individuals from the Yunnan population. The Yunnan population displayed a significantly high level of genetic differentiation (0.452-0.622) and a restricted gene flow with other populations. The pairwise F ST values among other populations were lower. The AMOVA result showed that the percentage of variation within populations (83.83%) was higher than that among populations (16.17%). Mantel test suggested that geographical distance did not significantly contribute to the genetic differentiation (R 2 = 0.0125, P = 0.59). Neutral test and mismatch analysis results showed that the An. sinensis population has undergone demographic expansions.ConclusionsAnopheles sinensis populations showed high genetic polymorphism by cox1 gene. The weak genetic structure may be a consequence of low genetic differentiation and high gene flow among populations, except the Yunnan samples. The Yunnan population was isolated from the other populations, gene flow limited by geographical distance and barriers. These findings will provide a theoretical basis for vector surveillance and vector control in China.

Project description:BackgroundIn Brazil, the autochthonous transmission of extra-Amazonian malaria occurs mainly in areas of the southeastern coastal Atlantic Forest, where Anopheles cruzii is the primary vector. In these locations, the population density of the mosquito varies with altitude (5-263 m above sea level), prompting us to hypothesise that gene flow is also unevenly distributed. Describing the micro-geographical and temporal biological variability of this species may be a key to understanding the dispersion of malaria in the region. We explored the homogeneity of the An. cruzii population across its altitudinal range of distribution using wing shape and mtDNA gene analysis. We also assessed the stability of wing geometry over time.MethodsLarvae were sampled from lowland (5-20 m) and hilltop (81-263 m) areas in a primary Atlantic Forest region, in the municipality of Cananéia (State of São Paulo, Brazil). The right wings of males and females were analysed by standard geometric morphometrics. Eighteen landmarks were digitised for each individual and a discriminant analysis was used to compare samples from the hilltop and lowland. A 400-bp DNA fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene subunit I (CO-I) was PCR-amplified and sequenced.ResultsWing shapes were distinct between lowland and hilltop population samples. Results of cross-validated tests based on Mahalanobis distances showed that the individuals from both micro-environments were correctly reclassified in a range of 54-96%. The wings of hilltop individuals were larger. The CO-I gene was highly polymorphic (haplotypic diversity = 0.98) and altitudinally structured (Фst = 0.085 and Jaccard = 0.033). We found 60 different haplotypes but only two were shared by the lowland and hilltop populations. Wing shape changed over the brief study period (2009-2013).ConclusionsWing geometry and CO-I gene analysis indicated that An. cruzii is vertically structured. Wing shape varied rapidly, but altitude structure was maintained. Future investigations should identify the biotic/abiotic causes of these patterns and their implications in the local epidemiology of malaria.

Project description:Cryptic species complexes are common among anophelines. Previous phylogenetic analysis based on the complete mtDNA COI gene sequences detected paraphyly in the Neotropical malaria vector Anopheles marajoara. The "Folmer region" detects a single taxon using a 3% divergence threshold.To test the paraphyletic hypothesis and examine the utility of the Folmer region, genealogical trees based on a concatenated (white + 3' COI sequences) dataset and pairwise differentiation of COI fragments were examined. The population structure and demographic history were based on partial COI sequences for 294 individuals from 14 localities in Amazonian Brazil. 109 individuals from 12 localities were sequenced for the nDNA white gene, and 57 individuals from 11 localities were sequenced for the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2).Distinct A. marajoara lineages were detected by combined genealogical analysis and were also supported among COI haplotypes using a median joining network and AMOVA, with time since divergence during the Pleistocene (<100,000 ya). COI sequences at the 3' end were more variable, demonstrating significant pairwise differentiation (3.82%) compared to the more moderate 2.92% detected by the Folmer region. Lineage 1 was present in all localities, whereas lineage 2 was restricted mainly to the west. Mismatch distributions for both lineages were bimodal, likely due to multiple colonization events and spatial expansion (~798-81,045 ya). There appears to be gene flow within, not between lineages, and a partial barrier was detected near Rio Jari in Amapá state, separating western and eastern populations. In contrast, both nDNA data sets (white gene sequences with or without the retention of the 4th intron, and ITS2 sequences and length) detected a single A. marajoara lineage.Strong support for combined data with significant differentiation detected in the COI and absent in the nDNA suggest that the divergence is recent, and detectable only by the faster evolving mtDNA. A within subgenus threshold of >2% may be more appropriate among sister taxa in cryptic anopheline complexes than the standard 3%. Differences in demographic history and climatic changes may have contributed to mtDNA lineage divergence in A. marajoara.

Dataset Information

Biology, Bionomics and Molecular Biology of Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann 1828 (Diptera: Culicidae), Main Malaria Vector in China.

Publications

Biology, Bionomics and Molecular Biology of <i>Anopheles sinensis</i> Wiedemann 1828 (Diptera: Culicidae), Main Malaria Vector in China.

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