title: Extensive genetic diversity among populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles moucheti revealed by population genomics.
abstract: Malaria vectors are exposed to intense selective pressures due to large-scale intervention programs that are underway in most African countries. One of the current priorities is therefore to clearly assess the adaptive potential of Anopheline populations, which is critical to understand and anticipate the response mosquitoes can elicit against such adaptive challenges. The development of genomic resources that will empower robust examinations of evolutionary changes in all vectors including currently understudied species is an inevitable step toward this goal. Here we constructed double-digest Restriction Associated DNA (ddRAD) libraries and generated 6461 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that we used to explore the population structure and demographic history of wild-caught Anopheles moucheti from Cameroon. The genome-wide distribution of allelic frequencies among samples best fitted that of an old population at equilibrium, characterized by a weak genetic structure and extensive genetic diversity, presumably due to a large long term effective population size. Estimates of FSTand Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) across SNPs reveal a very low genetic differentiation throughout the genome and the absence of segregating LD blocks among populations, suggesting an overall lack of local adaptation. Our study provides the first investigation of the genetic structure and diversity in An. moucheti at the genomic scale. We conclude that, despite a weak genetic structure, this species has the potential to challenge current vector control measures and other rapid anthropogenic and environmental changes thanks to its great genetic diversity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States. Electronic address: caroline.fouet@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fouet
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States.
authors.forename: Colince
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kamdem
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gamez
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States; Center for Disease Vector Research, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States. Electronic address: bwhite@ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D017344:Genes, Insect; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
keywords: Anopheles moucheti; De novo assembly; Population genomics; RADseq