Mitochondrial genomes of , and show no clear species division.

Here we report the complete mitochondrial sequences of 70 individual field collected mosquito specimens from throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. We generated this dataset to identify species specific markers for the following species and chromosomal forms: , (The and chromosomal forms) and (The and chromosomal forms).  The raw Illumina sequencing reads were mapped to the NC_002084 reference mitogenome sequence.

The 2La chromosome inversion is associated with susceptibility to in Africa.

Chromosome inversions suppress genetic recombination and establish co-adapted gene complexes, or supergenes. The 2La inversion is a widespread polymorphism in the species complex, the major African mosquito vectors of human malaria. Here we show that alleles of the 2La inversion are associated with natural malaria infection levels in wild-captured vectors from West and East Africa.

Preferential suppression of Anopheles gambiae host sequences allows detection of the mosquito eukaryotic microbiome.

Anopheles mosquitoes are vectors of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The vector microbiota is a likely factor influencing parasite transmission. The prokaryotic microbiota of mosquitoes is efficiently surveyed by sequencing of hypervariable regions of the 16s ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene.

Complex genome evolution in Anopheles coluzzii associated with increased insecticide usage in Mali.

In certain cases, a species may have access to important genetic variation present in a related species via adaptive introgression. These novel alleles may interact with their new genetic background, resulting in unexpected phenotypes. In this study, we describe a selective sweep on standing variation on the X chromosome in the mosquito Anopheles coluzzii, a principal malaria vector in West Africa.

Adaptive introgression in an African malaria mosquito coincident with the increased usage of insecticide-treated bed nets.

Animal species adapt to changes in their environment, including man-made changes such as the introduction of insecticides, through selection for advantageous genes already present in populations or newly arisen through mutation. A possible alternative mechanism is the acquisition of adaptive genes from related species via a process known as adaptive introgression. Differing levels of insecticide resistance between two African malaria vectors, Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae, have been attributed to assortative mating between the two species.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of gene flow and hybrid fitness between the M and S forms of the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae.

The M and S forms of Anopheles gambiae have been the focus of intense study by malaria researchers and evolutionary biologists interested in ecological speciation. Divergence occurs at three discrete islands in genomes that are otherwise nearly identical. An "islands of speciation" model proposes that diverged regions contain genes that are maintained by selection in the face of gene flow.

Chromosome inversions, genomic differentiation and speciation in the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

The African malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, is characterized by multiple polymorphic chromosomal inversions and has become widely studied as a system for exploring models of speciation. Near complete reproductive isolation between different inversion types, known as chromosomal forms, has led to the suggestion that A. gambiae is in early stages of speciation, with divergence evolving in the face of considerable gene flow.

Differential Plasmodium falciparum infection of Anopheles gambiae s.s. molecular and chromosomal forms in Mali.

Background: Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) is a primary vector of Plasmodium falciparum in sub-Saharan Africa.

Desiccation resistance among subpopulations of Anopheles gambiae s.s. from Selinkenyi, Mali.

Certain forms of Anopheles gambiae s.s. actively maintain malaria transmission in the driest areas and months of the year because of considerable drought tolerance.

PCR-based karyotyping of Anopheles gambiae inversion 2Rj identifies the BAMAKO chromosomal form.

Background: The malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is polymorphic for chromosomal inversions on the right arm of chromosome 2 that segregate nonrandomly between assortatively mating populations in West Africa. One such inversion, 2Rj, is associated with the BAMAKO chromosomal form endemic to southern Mali and northern Guinea Conakry near the Niger River. Although it exploits a unique ecology and both molecular and chromosomal data suggest reduced gene flow between BAMAKO and other A.

Longitudinal survey of knockdown resistance to pyrethroid (kdr) in Mali, West Africa, and evidence of its emergence in the Bamako form of Anopheles gambiae s.s.

Studies aimed at monitoring the spread of knockdown resistance to pyrethroids (kdr) in time and space are particularly useful for detecting barriers to gene flow among the chromosomal and molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae. We used a recently developed polymerase chain reaction assay to estimate changes in kdr frequency that occurred in several mixed-form populations from Mali, West Africa, in the past decade. We found that the kdr allele significantly increased in frequency in most populations but was still absent from the M molecular form.