A comparison of Anopheles gambiae and Plasmodium falciparum genetic structure over space and time.
Population genetic structure and subdivision are key factors affecting the evolution of organisms. In this study, we analysed and compared the population genetic structure of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and its mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae over space and time in the Nianza Province, near Victoria Lake in Kenya. The parasites were collected from mosquitoes caught in six villages separated by up to 68 km in 2002 and 2003. A total of 545 oocysts were dissected from 122 infected mosquitoes and genotyped at seven microsatellite markers. Five hundred and forty-seven mosquitoes, both infected and uninfected, were genotyped at eight microsatellites. For the parasite and the vector, the analysis revealed no (or very little) genetic differentiation among villages. This may be explained by high local population sizes for the parasite and the mosquito. The small level of genetic differentiation observed between populations may explain the speed at which antimalarial drug resistance and insecticide resistance spread into the African continent.
Prugnolle
Franck
F
Génétique et Evolution des Maladies Infectieuses, UMR 2274 IRD-CNRS-UMI, Centre IRD, 911 avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. prugnoll@mpl.ird.fr
Durand
Patrick
P
Jacob
Koella
K
Razakandrainibe
Fabien
F
Arnathau
Céline
C
Villarreal
Diana
D
Rousset
François
F
de Meeûs
Thierry
T
Renaud
François
F
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology; D005828:Genetics, Population; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D009865:Oocytes; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*