Project description:The transcriptional profile of Anopheles arabiensis collected from a pyrethroid resistant area on Pemba Island collected in 2011 was compared to that of a lab susceptible colony of Anopheles arabiensis (MOZ).
Project description:The transcriptional profile of pyrethroid resistant Anopheles arabiensis from Zanzibar. Anopheles arabiensis from Pemba Island, exposed (Survivors) and non-exposed (Pemba) to a discriminating dose of the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin were compared to two insecticide susceptible strains from Zanzibar island (Unguja) and Dar es Salaam (Dar).
Project description:BackgroundThroughout large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, seasonal malaria transmission follows mosquito density, approaching zero during the dry season and peaking during the wet season. The mechanisms by which malaria mosquitoes survive the long dry season, when no larval sites are available remain largely unknown, despite being long recognized as a critical target for vector control. Previous work in the West African Sahel has led to the hypothesis that Anopheles coluzzii (formerly M-form Anopheles gambiae) undergoes aestivation (dry-season diapause), while Anopheles gambiae (s.s.) (formerly S-form An. gambiae) and Anopheles arabiensis repopulate each wet season via long-distance migration. The environmental cues used by these species to signal the oncoming dry season have not been determined; however, studies, mostly addressing mosquitoes from temperate zones, have highlighted photoperiod and temperature as the most common token stimuli for diapause initiation. We subjected newly established colonies of An. coluzzii and An. arabiensis from the Sahel to changes in photoperiod to assess and compare their responses in terms of longevity and other relevant phenotypes.ResultsOur results showed that short photoperiod alone and to a lesser extent, lower nightly temperature (representing the early dry season), significantly increased longevity of An. coluzzii (by ~30%, P < 0.001) but not of An. arabiensis. Further, dry season conditions increased body size but not relative lipid content of An. coluzzii, whereas body size of An. arabiensis decreased under these conditions.ConclusionsThese species-specific responses underscore the capacity of tropical anophelines to detect mild changes (~1 h) in photoperiod and thus support the role of photoperiod as a token stimulus for An. coluzzii in induction of aestivation, although, these responses fall short of a complete recapitulation of aestivation under laboratory conditions.
Project description:Anopheles arabiensis from Jinja, Uganda resistant to permethrin (1hr exposure) were compared to sympatric controls and two pyrethroid susceptible colonies of An. arabiensis (Moz and Dongola)