The Genome of Anopheles darlingi, the main neotropical malaria vector

Abstract

Anopheles darlingi is the principal neotropical malaria vector, responsible for more than a million cases of malaria per year on the American contin- ent. Anopheles darlingi diverged from the African and Asian malaria vectors 100 million years ago (mya) and successfully adapted to the New World environment. Here we present an annotated refer- ence A. darlingi genome, sequenced from a wild population of males and females collected in the Brazilian Amazon. A total of 10 481 predicted protein-coding genes were annotated, 72% of which have their closest counterpart in Anopheles gambiae and 21% have highest similarity with other mosquito species. In spite of a long period of diver- gent evolution, conserved gene synteny was observed between A. darlingi and A. gambiae. More than 10 million single nucleotide polymorph- isms and short indels with potential use as genetic markers were identified. Transposable elements correspond to 2.3% of the A. darlingi genome. Genes associated with hematophagy, immunity and insecticide resistance, directly involved in vector–human and vector–parasite interactions, were identified and discussed. This study repre- sents the first effort to sequence the genome of a neotropical malaria vector, and opens a new window through which we can contemplate the evo- lutionary history of anopheline mosquitoes. It also provides valuable information that may lead to novel strategies to reduce malaria transmission on the South American continent. The A. darlingi genome is accessible at www.labinfo.lncc.br/index. php/anopheles-darlingi.