SCREENING FOR AND CHARACTERIZING GENES RELATED TO Plasmodium INFECTION SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE PRIMARY MALARIA VECTOR (Anopheles gambiae)

• Grant number: 24/15035-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: March 05, 2025
• End date: September 04, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Eduardo Martins Ribolla
• Grantee: Cindy Megumi Kimura
• Supervisor: George Dimopoulos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biotecnologia (IBTEC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Johns Hopkins University (JHU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/01045-2 - Identification of molecular markers for susceptibility to infection by human Plasmodium species in the primary neotropical vector of malaria Nyssorhynchus darlingi, BP.MS

Abstract

Malaria is a febrile disease caused by infection with protozoa of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by arthropods of the genus Anopheles, with the mosquito Anopheles gambiae being the most prominent, recognized for its widespread distribution across the African continent. Regarding the transmission cycle of the disease, after the female mosquito takes a blood meal, the success of a mosquito progressing from the infected stage, characterized by the ingestion of gametocytes from the vertebrate host, to the infectious stage, marked by the presence of sporozoites in the salivary glands, is a process that presents various variables that can influence its completion, representing significant bottlenecks and making them critical targets for control. Previous studies have already reported the existence of molecular markers related to the susceptibility to parasite infection in Brazilian vectors, showing them as potential targets for malaria transmission control. Furthermore, new markers are being identified through the candidate's master's project. In this context, using RNA interference techniques for gene silencing, this project aims to understand the role of genes related to susceptibility to infection by Plasmodium species in the primary malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, in order to assess the genetic contributions to mosquito infectivity and identify similarities with the neotropical vector that is prominent in Brazil. By targeting previously described molecular markers, this project seeks to assist in the direction of strategies and molecular tools aimed at vector control.