Anopheles gambiae genome: perspectives for malaria control.
Malaria, a disease that infects 300 million people throughout the world and kills more than a million people, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa, involves three organisms. The human host where the disease is seen, the protozoan Plasmodium parasite and the mosquito. The parasite is transmitted to humans only by the mosquito vector, which in sub-Saharan regions is generally Anopheles gambiae. Malaria along with AIDS and tuberculosis are killing large numbers of people and crippling the economies of the affected African countries. Though an enormous effort has been made during the past twenty years to develop vaccines to block malaria in humans, the incidence of the disease is increasing in Africa. The reasons for this development include a breakdown in mosquito control related to increased insecticide resistance, as well as increased parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs. It is clear that new methods of Anopheles mosquito control are needed to ameliorate the medical and economic situation in sub-Saharan Africa. As a step toward new malaria control methods, the international Plasmodium falciparum and Anopheles gambiae consortia have carried out the full genome sequencing of the most deadly malaria parasite and the most efficient vector. These, combined with the human genome sequence, provide the genomic infrastructure for a better understanding of the complex interactions within the malaria triad. This essay discusses possible strategies as to how the Anopheles genome can contribute to malaria control.
Brey
Paul T
PT
Unité de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire des Insectes, Institut Pasteur 25 rue du Dr. Roux 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. pbrey@pasteur.fr
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D016678:Genome; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D007305:Insecticide Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA