Last Updated: 02/05/2025
Integrating data from multiple African countries to identify and validate novel insecticide resistance candidates in the malaria vector An. gambiae sl
Objectives
The main goal of this project is to identify, validate, and characterise novel insecticide resistance-associated transcripts or pathways in Anopheles gambiae s.l. through integrative big data analysis, functional genomics, and population genetics, with the aim of informing both field diagnostics and the development of next-generation insecticide targets.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), United Kingdom
Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Broad Institute, United States
Vector control strategies are key to malaria eradication efforts; an estimated 80 % of the 663 million malaria cases prevented since the year 2000 were due to insecticide treated nets (ITNs and indoor residual spraying). As a result of this scale up in vector control, resistance to public health insecticides is now wide spread. All ITNs are treated with pyrethroids and yet 80% of African countries reporting resistance to this class. The precise impact of this resistance on the protective efficacy of ITNs is still being debated but there is consensus that there is an urgent need for informed field strategies to prevent failure of these crucial interventions and hence; the resurgence of malaria associated morbidity and mortality in the world’s poorest regions.
Concerns over the potential impact of vector control failure have stimulated the generation of a wide variety of field data available on malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, including extensive population genetics resources and continent-wide gene expression data. These data represent an incredibly diverse and rich set of information that have previously been examined in isolation. Integrating these multi-species, multi-country datasets in an objective way, is expected to identify previously unrecognised genes and pathways associated with insecticide resistance. These in silico results will be validated in a laboratory setting prior to the development of diagnostics which will be evaluated under field settings. The availability of a comprehensive set of resistance makers will also enable more detailed studies of the impact of resistance on the fitness of the mosquito and its ability to transmit the malaria parasite. The data generated will be of value to control programmes to help mitigate the impact of resistance, and industry partners, developing new insecticides and vector control tools.
Nov 2017 — Feb 2021
$374,148
Related Resources
