Transcontinental dispersal of Anopheles gambiae occurred from West African origin via serial founder events

Hanno Schmidt, Yoosook Lee, Travis C. Collier, Mark J. Hanemaaijer, Oscar D. Kirstein, Ahmed Ouledi, Mbanga Muleba, Douglas E. Norris, Montgomery Slatkin, Anthony J. Cornel, Gregory C. Lanzaro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s. is distributed across most of sub-Saharan Africa and is of major scientific and public health interest for being an African malaria vector. Here we present population genomic analyses of 111 specimens sampled from west to east Africa, including the first whole genome sequences from oceanic islands, the Comoros. Genetic distances between populations of A. gambiae are discordant with geographic distances but are consistent with a stepwise migration scenario in which the species increases its range from west to east Africa through consecutive founder events over the last ~200,000 years. Geological barriers like the Congo River basin and the East African rift seem to play an important role in shaping this process. Moreover, we find a high degree of genetic isolation of populations on the Comoros, confirming the potential of these islands as candidate sites for potential field trials of genetically engineered mosquitoes for malaria control.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number473
JournalCommunications biology
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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