Nora Besansky, O'Hara Professor of Biological
Sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the
University's Eck Institute for Global Health, has led an international
team of scientists in sequencing the genomes of 16 Anopheles mosquito species from around the world.
Anopheles mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting human
malaria parasites that cause an estimated 200 million cases and more
than 600 thousand deaths each year. However, of the almost 500 different
Anopheles species, only a few dozen can carry the parasite and
only a handful of species are responsible for the vast majority of
transmissions. Besansky and her fellow researchers investigated the
genetic differences between the deadly parasite-transmitting species and
their harmless (but still annoying) cousins.
Two papers published in today's (Nov. 27) editions of Science Express, an electronic publication of the journal Science in advance of print, describe detailed genomic comparisons of these mosquitoes and the deadliest of them all, Anopheles gambiae.
These results offer new insights into how these species are related to
each other and how the dynamic evolution of their genomes may contribute
to their flexibility to adapt to new environments and to seek out human
blood. These newly sequenced genomes represent a substantial
contribution to the scientific resources that will advance our
understanding of the diverse biological characteristics of mosquitoes,
and help to eliminate diseases that have a major impact on global public
health.
Culicidae (2)
Abraedes
