Campos Melina, Crepeau Marc, Lanzaro Gregory C
Vector Genetics Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 16;15(1):13142. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96391-y.
Mosquito species in the Anopheles gambiae complex have been referred to as "the deadliest animals in the world" due to their role as vectors of malaria throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, An. gambiae was among the first species to have its whole genome sequenced in 2002 and it continues to be the subject of intense study. An. gambiae is one member of a nine member species complex and, along with its sister species, An. coluzzii, is among the most important vectors of human malaria. Laboratory research on malaria vectors across a broad range of disciplines utilizes a strain known as G3, which was established in 1975 from mosquitoes collected from McCarthy Island, The Gambia. This strain is well known to be a mongrel strain, nonetheless it is often referred to as An. gambiae, which it is not. The issue with G3 goes far beyond the typical inbreeding associated with long-standing laboratory colonies. G3 is an An. gambiae/An. coluzzii interspecific hybrid. Although these two species are known to hybridize in nature, the pattern of interspecific introgression in G3 we describe in this paper is unlike any observed in natural populations. In this report we provide an in-depth analysis of the genetics of the G3 strain and compare it with natural populations of its two parental species. We discuss potential concerns that results obtained from research using the G3 strain may not apply to populations of these mosquito species as they occur in nature.
冈比亚按蚊复合体中的蚊子物种，因其在撒哈拉以南非洲作为疟疾传播媒介的作用，而被称为“世界上最致命的动物”。因此，冈比亚按蚊是2002年最早进行全基因组测序的物种之一，并且它仍然是深入研究的对象。冈比亚按蚊是一个由九个物种组成的复合体中的一员，与其姐妹物种科卢齐按蚊一起，是人类疟疾最重要的传播媒介之一。广泛学科领域内关于疟疾传播媒介的实验室研究，都使用一种名为G3的品系，该品系于1975年从冈比亚麦卡锡岛采集的蚊子中建立。众所周知，这个品系是一个杂交品系，但它常被称为冈比亚按蚊，而它其实并不是。G3的问题远不止与长期存在的实验室种群相关的典型近交问题。G3是冈比亚按蚊/科卢齐按蚊的种间杂交种。虽然已知这两个物种在自然环境中会杂交，但我们在本文中描述的G3种间基因渗入模式与在自然种群中观察到的任何模式都不同。在本报告中，我们对G3品系的遗传学进行了深入分析，并将其与其两个亲本物种的自然种群进行了比较。我们讨论了使用G3品系进行研究所获得的结果可能不适用于这些蚊子物种在自然环境中的种群的潜在问题。
