Replication Data for: Age structure and parity status determination of Afrotropical malaria vectors using MALDI-TOF MS

<p>This is a replication dataset for the manuscript titled: "<i><strong>Age structure and parity status determination of Afrotropical malaria vectors using MALDI-TOF MS.</strong></i>"</p>

<p>The age structure of a mosquito population helps estimate the proportion of vectors capable of transmitting malaria. Many malaria transmission models rely on mosquito longevity as key parameter. However, these are rarely measured in the field due to lack of a reliable and scalable age-grading method. An accurate method could improve predictions of malaria risk and the impact assessment of interventions. This study aimed to investigate the use of MALDI-TOF MS for malaria vector age-grading using insectary-reared and wild-caught mosquitoes. Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquitoes were reared in the insectary to different known physiological and chronological ages to evaluate if MALDI-TOF MS could be used to distinguish between different age groups. Wild mosquitoes were collected in Mozambique and dissected to determine their parity status. Reference spectra were obtained from mosquito’s cephalothorax and used to create predictive databases which were validated using independent samples. </p>