Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
Tullu Bukhari
Department of Zoology, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
Awa Gneme
Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Wamdaogo M Guelbeogo
Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Boubacar Coulibaly
Malaria Research and Training Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Mali, Bamako, Mali
Abdrahamane Fofana
Malaria Research and Training Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Mali, Bamako, Mali
Adrien Pain
Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Unit of Genetics and Genomics of Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; CNRS Unit of Hosts, Vectors and Pathogens, Paris, France; Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Hub (C3BI), USR 3756 IP CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Emmanuel Bischoff
Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Unit of Genetics and Genomics of Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; CNRS Unit of Hosts, Vectors and Pathogens, Paris, France
Francois Renaud
Laboratoire Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France; UMR 224-5290, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Montpellier, France
Abdoul H Beavogui
Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Santé Rurale de Mafèrinyah, Conakry, Guinea
Sekou F Traore
Malaria Research and Training Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Mali, Bamako, Mali
N’Fale Sagnon
Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Unit of Genetics and Genomics of Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; CNRS Unit of Hosts, Vectors and Pathogens, Paris, France
Chromosome inversions suppress genetic recombination and establish co-adapted gene complexes, or supergenes. The 2La inversion is a widespread polymorphism in the Anopheles gambiae species complex, the major African mosquito vectors of human malaria. Here we show that alleles of the 2La inversion are associated with natural malaria infection levels in wild-captured vectors from West and East Africa. Mosquitoes carrying the more-susceptible allele (2L+a) are also behaviorally less likely to be found inside houses. Vector control tools that target indoor-resting mosquitoes, such as bednets and insecticides, are currently the cornerstone of malaria control in Africa. Populations with high levels of the 2L+a allele may form reservoirs of persistent outdoor malaria transmission requiring novel measures for surveillance and control. The 2La inversion is a major and previously unappreciated component of the natural malaria transmission system in Africa, influencing both malaria susceptibility and vector behavior.
