Population structuring in Anopheles darlingi: using microbiota as a marker

• Grant number: 17/18595-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2018
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Eduardo Martins Ribolla
• Grantee: Isabella Ariadne Ferrari Bernardes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biotecnologia (IBTEC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/12153-0 - Evaluation of paratransgenesis potential of endosymbiont Asaia sp. in Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Malaria is considered the most striking arthropod-borne disease in developing countries. The latest estimates indicated 212 million global cases in 2015, leading to 429 thousand deaths. All complex organisms, including mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, the main transmitters of malaria are colonized by a large multiplicity of microorganisms, for example the microorganisms constituting the native microbial flora that colonizes the digestive tract, where the greatest quantity and diversity of bacteria are observed. This bacterial colonization, in general, confers benefits to the host revealing a true mutualist relation. A thorough investigation of the microbiota hosted by this neotropical malaria mosquito is central not only to application strategies but also to a baseline description of the general biology of the major malaria vector in South America. This project aims to use the intestinal microbiota of Anopheles darlingi as population marker. Samples of larvae will be collected in the city of Mâncio Lima (AC) around three houses representing three different environments (urban, semi-urban and rural). The characterization of the larvae microbiota will be performed by genotyping the V3 region of the 16S gene through the latest generation sequencing. (AU)