Data from: Pollutants and insecticides drive local adaptation in African malaria mosquitoes

The Anopheles gambiae complex contains a number of highly anthropophilic mosquito species that have acquired exceptional ability to thrive in complex human habitats. Thus, examining the evolutionary history of this Afrotropical mosquito may yield vital information on the selective processes that occurred during the adaptation to human-dominated environments. We performed reduced representation sequencing on 941 mosquitoes of the Anopheles gambiae complex collected across four ecogeographic zones in Cameroon. We find evidence for genetic and geographic subdivision within An. coluzzii and An. gambiae sensu stricto – the two most significant malaria vectors in the region. Importantly, in both species, rural and urban populations are genetically differentiated. Genome scans reveal pervasive signatures of selection centered on genes involved in xenobiotic resistance. Notably, a selective sweep containing detoxification enzymes is prominent in urban mosquitoes that exploit polluted breeding sites. Overall, our study suggests that recent anthropogenic environmental modifications and widespread use of insecticides are driving population differentiation and local adaptation in vectors with potentially significant consequences for malaria epidemiology.

冈比亚按蚊复合体（Anopheles gambiae complex）包含多个高度嗜人血的蚊种，这些蚊种已演化出在复杂人类栖息环境中存活的卓越能力。因此，对这一非洲热带按蚊的进化历史展开研究，或可揭示其在适应人类主导环境过程中所经历的选择作用的关键信息。我们对采集自喀麦隆四个生态地理区的941只冈比亚按蚊复合体样本开展了简化基因组测序（reduced representation sequencing）。研究发现，该区域两种最重要的疟疾媒介——科卢齐按蚊（An. coluzzii）和狭义冈比亚按蚊（An. gambiae sensu stricto）——内部存在遗传与地理分化。尤为关键的是，在这两个物种中，乡村与城市种群均出现了遗传分化。全基因组扫描显示，与异生物质抗性（xenobiotic resistance）相关的基因区域普遍存在选择信号。值得注意的是，在依赖受污染滋生地的城市蚊种群中，包含解毒酶基因的选择性清除（selective sweep）信号尤为显著。综上，本研究表明，近期人类活动引发的环境改变与杀虫剂的广泛使用，正推动这些疟疾媒介种群发生分化并产生局部适应性，这对疟疾流行病学或具有潜在的重要影响。