Project name: Anopheles darlingi

Description: BackgroundNyssorhynchus darlingi (also known as Anopheles darlingi) is the primary malaria vector in the Amazon River Basin. In Brazil, analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously detected three major population clusters, and a common garden experiment in a laboratory setting revealed significant population variation in life history traits. Increasing temperatures and local level variation can affect life history traits, i.e., adult longevity, that alter vectorial capacity with implications for malaria transmission in Ny. darlingi.MethodsWe investigated the population structure of Ny. darlingi from 7 localities across Brazil utilizing SNPs and compared them to a comprehensive Ny. darlingi catalog. To test the effects of local level variation on life history traits, we reared F1 progeny from the 7 localities at three constant temperatures (20, 24, 28°C), measuring key life-history traits (larval development, food-starved adult lifespan, adult size, daily survival).ResultsUsing nextRAD genotyping-by-sequencing, 93 of the field-collected Ny. darlingi were genotyped at 33,759 loci. Results revealed three populations (K=3), congruent with major biomes (Amazonia, Cerrado, Mata Atlântica), with greater FST values between biomes than within. In the life history experiments, increasing temperature reduced larvae development time, adult lifespan, and wing length in all localities. The variation of family responses of all traits within four localities of the Amazonia biome was significant (ANOVA, pConclusionsSNP analysis of several Brazilian localities provided results in support of a previous study wherein populations of Ny. darlingi were clustered by three major Brazilian biomes. Our laboratory results of temperature effects demonstrated that population variation in life history traits of Ny. darlingi exists at the local level, supporting previous research demonstrating the high plasticity of this species. Understanding this plasticity and inherent variation between families of Ny. darlingi at the local level should be considered when deploying intervention strategies and may improve the likelihood of successful malaria elimination in South America.

Data type: raw sequence reads

Sample scope: Multiisolate

Relevance: Environmental

Last updated: 2019-10-02