Temporal and biting dynamics of the malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae
and Anopheles coluzzii harboring the 2La inversion in Bangui, Central
African Republic
- Claire Sangbakembi-Ngounou,
- Carine Ngoagouni,
- Rodolphe Akone-Ella,
- Pierre Kengne,
- Carlo Costantini,
- Emmanuel Nakoune,
- Diego Ayala
Rodolphe Akone-Ella
Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville
Author ProfilePierre Kengne
Institut de recherche pour le developpement France-Sud
Author ProfileCarlo Costantini
Institut de recherche pour le developpement France-Sud
Author ProfileDiego Ayala
Institut de recherche pour le developpement France-Sud
Author ProfileAbstract
The chromosomal rearrangement 2La has been directly involved in the
ecological and deadly epidemiological success of the malaria mosquitoes
Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii in sub-Saharan Africa. However,
little is known about the biological and ecological factors that drive
the local and temporal dynamics of this inversion in both species. Here,
we performed a year-round longitudinal survey in Bangui, Central African
Republic. We monthly sampled An. gambiae and An. coluzzii mosquitoes
indoor and outdoor using human landing catches for 48 hours non-stop. We
molecularly karyotyped all specimens to study the 2La inversion
frequency variations, and monitored the mosquito spatial and temporal
biting behavior throughout the year. In total, we successfully
karyotyped 5121 An. gambiae and 986 An. coluzzii specimens. The 2La
inversion frequency was higher in An. coluzzii than in An. gambiae
across the year. In An. gambiae and An. coluzzii, the inversion
frequency or karyotypes did not influence the biting behavior, either
location or time. Moreover, the inversion frequency variation in both
species was also independent of local climatic changes. Overall, our
results revealed that in Bangui, the 2La inversion segregates at
different frequency in each species, but this is not influenced by their
trophic behavior. Studying the impact of urban settings and the
population genetic structure of these two An. gambiae complex members
could bring insights into the intrinsic relationship between 2La
inversion and local conditions. More studies are needed to understand
the polymorphic equilibrium of this inversion in Bangui.