Genomic Surveillance of Anopheles Mosquitoes on the Bijagós Archipelago Using Custom Targeted Amplicon Sequencing Identifies Mutations Associated with Insecticide Resistance

Overview

Journal Parasit Vectors

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Parasitology
Tropical Medicine

Date 2024 Jan 4

PMID 38178249

Authors

Sophie Moss

Elizabeth Pretorius

Sainey Ceesay

Harry Hutchins

Eunice Teixeira da Silva

Mamadou Ousmane Ndiath

Robert T Jones

Hristina Vasileva

Jody Phelan

Holly Acford-Palmer

Emma Collins

Amabelia Rodrigues

Sanjeev Krishna

Taane G Clark

Anna Last

Susana Campino

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Insecticide resistance is reducing the efficacy of vector control interventions, consequently threatening efforts to control vector-borne diseases, including malaria. Investigating the prevalence of molecular markers of resistance is a useful tool for monitoring the spread of insecticide resistance in disease vectors. The Bijagós Archipelago (Bijagós) in Guinea-Bissau is a region of stable malaria transmission where insecticide-treated nets are the mainstay for malaria control. However, the prevalence of molecular markers of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is not well understood.

Methods: A total of 214 Anopheles mosquitoes were analysed from 13 islands across the Bijagós. These mosquitoes were collected using CDC light traps in November 2019, during the peak malaria transmission season. High-throughput multiplex amplicon sequencing was used to investigate the prevalence of 17 different molecular markers associated with insecticide resistance in four genes: vgsc, rdl, ace1 and gste2.

Results: Of the 17 screened mutations, four were identified in mosquitoes from the Bijagós: vgsc L995F (12.2%), N1570Y (6.2%) and A1746S (0.7%) and rdl A269G (1.1%). This study is the first to report the L995F knock-down resistance (kdr)-west allele in Anopheles melas on the Archipelago. An additional eight non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified across the four genes which have not been described previously. The prevalences of the vgsc L995F and N1570Y mutations were higher on Bubaque Island than on the other islands in this study; Bubaque is the most populous island in the archipelago, with the greatest population mobility and connection to continental Guinea-Bissau.

Conclusions: This study provides the first surveillance data for genetic markers present in malaria vectors from islands across the Bijagós Archipelago. Overall prevalence of insecticide resistance mutations was found to be low. However, the identification of the vgsc L995F and N1570Y mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance warrants further monitoring. This is particularly important as the mainstay of malaria control on the islands is the use of pyrethroid insecticide-treated nets.

Citing Articles

Phenotypic evidence of deltamethrin resistance and identification of selective sweeps in Anopheles mosquitoes on the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau.

Moss S, Jones R, Pretorius E, Teixeira da Silva E, Higgins M, Kristan M Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):22840.

PMID: 39354094 PMC: 11445403. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-73996-3.

Whole genome sequence analysis of population structure and insecticide resistance markers in Anopheles melas from the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau.

Moss S, Pretorius E, Ceesay S, Teixeira da Silva E, Hutchins H, Ndiath M Parasit Vectors. 2024; 17(1):396.

PMID: 39294791 PMC: 11412053. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-024-06476-2.

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