An ace-1 gene duplication resorbs the fitness cost associated with resistance in Anopheles gambiae, the main malaria mosquito.
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Assogba BS, Djogbénou LS, Milesi P, Berthomieu A, Perez J, Ayala D, Chandre F, Makoutodé M, Labbé P, Weill M
Sci Rep 5 (-) 14529 [2015-10-05; online 2015-10-05]
Widespread resistance to pyrethroids threatens malaria control in Africa. Consequently, several countries switched to carbamates and organophophates insecticides for indoor residual spraying. However, a mutation in the ace-1 gene conferring resistance to these compounds (ace-1(R) allele), is already present. Furthermore, a duplicated allele (ace-1(D)) recently appeared; characterizing its selective advantage is mandatory to evaluate the threat. Our data revealed that a unique duplication event, pairing a susceptible and a resistant copy of the ace-1 gene spread through West Africa. Further investigations revealed that, while ace-1(D) confers less resistance than ace-1(R), the high fitness cost associated with ace-1(R) is almost completely suppressed by the duplication for all traits studied. ace-1 duplication thus represents a permanent heterozygote phenotype, selected, and thus spreading, due to the mosaic nature of mosquito control. It provides malaria mosquito with a new evolutionary path that could hamper resistance management.
PubMed 26434951
DOI 10.1038/srep14529
Crossref 10.1038/srep14529
pii: srep14529
pmc: PMC4592963