Laboratory and microcosm experiments reveal contrasted adaptive responses to ammonia and water mineralisation in aquatic stages of the sibling species Anopheles gambiae (sensu stricto) and Anopheles coluzzii.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The sibling species of the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae (sensu stricto) and Anopheles coluzzii co-exist in many parts of West Africa and are thought to have recently diverged through a process of ecological speciation with gene flow. Divergent larval ecological adaptations, resulting in Genotype-by-Environment (G × E) interactions, have been proposed as important drivers of speciation in these species. In West Africa, An. coluzzii tends to be associated with permanent man-made larval habitats such as irrigated rice fields, which are typically more eutrophic and mineral and ammonia-rich than the temporary rain pools exploited by An. gambiae (s.s.) METHODS: To highlight G × E interactions at the larval stage and their possible role in ecological speciation of these

SUBMITTER: Akpodiete NO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7789177 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature