Collaborative Research: Integrating Phylogenomics and Traits to Reveal the Eco-Evolutionary Range Dynamics of Anopheline Mosquitos
Ente: Evo Patterns & Processes
Scadenza: 2029-07-31
Importo max: 651.779 EUR
Paese: US
Descrizione
An Integrated Phylogenomic, Morphological, and Ecological Framework for Anopheline Mosquitoes
Anopheline mosquitoes are among the deadliest animals on Earth, serving as key vectors for many zoonotic illnesses, including but not limited to malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria alone caused 610,000 deaths and 282 million cases worldwide in 2024, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa. The threat posed by mosquitoes is likely to continue expanding as invasive species such the Asian Malaria Mosquito, have now spread to at least nine African countries, fueling urban malaria outbreaks where the disease was previously rare. Continued human disturbance is extending mosquito ranges into previously uncolonized regions, including parts of the United States. Despite the known risks posed by Anopheline mosquitoes, it is surprising how little is known about this group. Fewer than 75 of the 489 described Anopheline species have been tested for their ability to transmit human pathogens and basic information about their evolutionary relationships, dispersal abilities, and environmental limits is limited. As a result, new disease threats are typically recognized only after they emerge. This project builds the first comprehensive evolutionary and ecological framework for Anopheline mosquitoes, enabling public health agencies, mosquito control districts, and military preparedness programs to anticipate where new potential mosquito-borne disease threats will arise rather than react to them after the fact. The project also produces an open-access digital atlas hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and trains a postdoctoral fellow, graduate students, and undergraduates at the intersection of genomics, biodiversity informatics, and public health entomology.
The project integrates phylogenetic and genomic approaches with quantitative trait analyses across the subfamily Anophelinae to identify lineage specific drivers of geographic range expansion. Drawing on museum and contemporary collections from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Natural History Museum (London), the Bishop Museum, the University of Queensland Insect Collection, and the National Ecological Observatory Network, the research team will sequence ~1,000 specimens spanning nearly all recognized groups including potential species complexes. Whole genome and reduced representation sequencing will recover single copy nuclear orthologs. These will serve as a basis for reconstructing a coalescence-based time calibrated phylogeny along with detection of potential introgression. High resolution micro CT imaging will quantify thoracic musculature and wing architecture to generate functional morphological-based dispersal metrics for each lineage. Curated global occurrence records linked to climate and land cover data will delineate the niche breadth of lineages in relation to propensity for establishment. Phylogenetic comparative analyses
Istituzione: Henry M Jackson Fdn for Advmt of Military Medicine
Sede: BETHESDA, MD
PI: Mohamed Sallam
Settori: Biological Sciences
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