title: Pollutants and Insecticides Drive Local Adaptation in African Malaria Mosquitoes.
abstract: The Anopheles gambiae complex contains a number of highly anthropophilic mosquito species that have acquired exceptional ability to thrive in complex human habitats. Thus, examining the evolutionary history of this Afrotropical mosquito may yield vital information on the selective processes that occurred during the adaptation to human-dominated environments. We performed reduced representation sequencing on 941 mosquitoes of the Anopheles gambiae complex collected across four ecogeographic zones in Cameroon. We find evidence for genetic and geographic subdivision within An. coluzzii and An. gambiae sensu stricto-the two most significant malaria vectors in the region. Importantly, in both species, rural and urban populations are genetically differentiated. Genome scans reveal pervasive signatures of selection centered on genes involved in xenobiotic resistance. Notably, a selective sweep containing detoxification enzymes is prominent in urban mosquitoes that exploit polluted breeding sites. Overall, our study suggests that recent anthropogenic environmental modifications and widespread use of insecticides are driving population differentiation and local adaptation in vectors with potentially significant consequences for malaria epidemiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA.
authors.forename: Colince
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kamdem
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fouet
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gamez
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA.|Center for Disease Vector Research, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002163:Cameroon; D017753:Ecosystem; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D007306:Insecticides / Q000009:adverse effects; D008288:Malaria / Q000635:transmission; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides
keywords: Anopheles gambiae; adaptive divergence; insecticides; pollution; selective sweep