Characterizing malaria vector competence among natural populations of Anopheles

项目总结 在非洲的许多地区，疟疾的负担仍然很重，尽管疟疾控制措施已得到广泛应用。 措施。最近关于非洲疟疾感染率上升的报告突出表明有必要确保 目前和未来的干预措施以这些环境中疟疾传播的主要来源为目标。这个 按蚊允许摄取的疟原虫配子体完全发育到 可传播子孢子阶段，或媒介能力，仍然知之甚少。在马拉维和其他许多地方 在非洲南部和东部，按蚊和阿拉伯按蚊现在是最常见的 疟疾媒介，并可能在媒介能力方面有重要的变异性，这在控制中还没有考虑到 和消除努力。 我们的长期目标是更好地了解人类和媒介对传播的贡献 为非洲负担最重的地区设计有效的病媒控制战略。我们 有独特的机会对主要疟疾的媒介能力进行严格评估 通过我们在马拉维国际疟疾英才中心正在进行的项目，在马拉维开展媒介生物 研究(ICEMR)。这项拟议的研究由一位流行病学家领导，他是 ICEMR内的一项传播研究，重点是周期的人到媒介阶段，以及 领导ICEMR昆虫学核心的昆虫学家。我们已经建立了一个运作良好的杀虫剂和 定期从该地区的几个高传播场所收集活的雌性按蚊。在……里面 此外，我们正在建立一个儿童和成人队列，他们将被跟踪以识别恶性疟原虫。 含有配子体的感染。我们将使用从这些感染配子体的捐赠者那里收集的样本来 比较群养按蚊的媒介能力。冈比亚、基苏木和野外捕获的An.Funestus和An. 以检验天然按蚊媒介能力的假说。Funestus和An.阿拉伯不同于 彼此之间以及来自菌落的菌株。我们将进一步评估雌雄异株间载体能力的差异。 以评估媒介能力的遗传力。最后，我们建议 比较同一物种内但来自马拉维地理上与世隔绝的地区的媒介能力。 这一建议的预期结果包括对An媒介能力的估计。阿拉比斯和 一种。福斯特斯。识别媒介能力在物种间、物种内或基础上的显著差异 在起源区域，可能表明有必要研究载体能力的基因组基础。我们的结果将 还影响马拉维合理实施媒介生物控制措施和其他高传播率 设置。

PROJECT SUMMARY The burden of malaria remains high in many regions of Africa, despite widespread availability of malaria control measures. The recent report of increases in malaria infection rates in Africa highlights the need to ensure that current and future interventions target the key sources of malaria transmission in these settings. The susceptibility of an Anopheles mosquito to permit ingested Plasmodium gametocytes to develop fully to the transmissible sporozoite stage, or vector competence, remains poorly understood. In Malawi and many other regions in southern and eastern Africa, Anopheles funestus and Anopheles arabiensis are now the most common malaria vectors and may have important variability in vector competence that has not been considered in control and elimination efforts. Our long-term goal is to better understand the contributions of both humans and vectors to transmission of malaria parasites to design effective vector control strategies for the highest-burden regions of Africa. We have the unique opportunity to conduct a rigorous assessment of the vector competence of the key malaria vectors in Malawi through our on-going projects in the Malawi International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research (ICEMR). The proposed study is being led by an epidemiologist who serves as the project leader for a transmission study within the ICEMR that focuses on the human to vector phases of the cycle, and an entomologist who leads the ICEMR entomology core. We have established a well-functioning insectary and routinely collect live female Anopheles mosquitoes from several high transmission settings in the region. In addition, we are establishing a cohort of children and adults who will be followed to identify P. falciparum infections that contain gametocytes. We will use specimens collected from these gametocyte-infected donors to compare vector competence between colony-reared An. gambiae Kisumu and field-caught An. funestus and An. arabiensis to test the hypotheses that vector competence of natural An. funestus and An. arabiensis differs from each other and from the colony strain. We will further evaluate variation in vector competence among isofemale lines of the same Anopheles species to assess the heritability of vector competence. Finally, we propose comparing vector competence within the same species but from geographically isolated areas of Malawi. The expected outcomes of this proposal include estimates of vector competence for An. arabiensis and An. funestus. Identifying significant differences in vector competence among species, within species or based on region of origin, may indicate the need to investigate a genomic basis for vector competence. Our results will also impact the rational implementation of vector control measures in Malawi and other high transmission settings.