Widespread divergence between incipient Anopheles gambiae species revealed by whole genome sequences.
The Afrotropical mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, a major vector of malaria, is currently undergoing speciation into the M and S molecular forms. These forms have diverged in larval ecology and reproductive behavior through unknown genetic mechanisms, despite considerable levels of hybridization. Previous genome-wide scans using gene-based microarrays uncovered divergence between M and S that was largely confined to gene-poor pericentromeric regions, prompting a speciation-with-ongoing-gene-flow model that implicated only about 3% of the genome near centromeres in the speciation process. Here, based on the complete M and S genome sequences, we report widespread and heterogeneous genomic divergence inconsistent with appreciable levels of interform gene flow, suggesting a more advanced speciation process and greater challenges to identify genes critical to initiating that process.
Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
M K N
MK
Lawniczak
S J
SJ
Emrich
A K
AK
Holloway
A P
AP
Regier
M
M
Olson
B
B
White
S
S
Redmond
L
L
Fulton
E
E
Appelbaum
J
J
Godfrey
C
C
Farmer
A
A
Chinwalla
S-P
SP
Yang
P
P
Minx
J
J
Nelson
K
K
Kyung
B P
BP
Walenz
E
E
Garcia-Hernandez
M
M
Aguiar
L D
LD
Viswanathan
Y-H
YH
Rogers
R L
RL
Strausberg
C A
CA
Saski
D
D
Lawson
F H
FH
Collins
F C
FC
Kafatos
G K
GK
Christophides
S W
SW
Clifton
E F
EF
Kirkness
N J
NJ
Besansky
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D051456:Gene Flow; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D049750:Genome, Insect; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide