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Uncovering transposable element variants and their potential adaptive impact in urban populations of the malaria vector Anopheles coluzziiuse asterix (*) to get italics
Carlos Vargas-Chavez, Neil Michel Longo Pendy, Sandrine E. Nsango, Laura Aguilera, Diego Ayala, and Josefa GonzálezPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"
2021
<p style="text-align: justify;">Background</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Anopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has colonized the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments is partly due to an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. While some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation, including chromosome rearrangements and introgressions, are known, the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet. To assess the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, the first step is to accurately annotate TE insertions in the genomes of natural populations collected in urban settings.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Results</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">We sequenced using long-reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated the complete set of TEs in these genomes and in an additional high-quality An. coluzzii genome available and identified 64 previously undescribed TE families. TEs were non-randomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity. Moreover, we identified several TE insertions providing promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Conclusions</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The analysis of multiple genomes sequenced using long-read technologies allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotations in this species to date. We identified several TE insertions that could potentially impact both genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes in An. coluzzii. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.</p>
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53 Long-read sequencing, Insecticide resistance, Innate immunity, Comparative genomics, Chromosome inversions
NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).
Evolutionary genomics
e.g. John Doe john@doe.com
No need for them to be recommenders of PCI Genomics. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct
e.g. John Doe john@doe.com
2020-12-02 14:58:47
Anne Roulin