NEW RESEARCH TOOLS

©IRD Maxime Jacquet

8 new distributable mosquito colonies (2018-19)

colony-cage

Colony cages in insectary

  • Newly initiated from the natural population
  • With microbiome and genetic variation data
  • With user-friendly genetic fingerprint test for colony authentication
    1. Aedes aegypti aegypti, New Caledonia
    2. Aedes aegypti formosus, Senegal
    3. Aedes albopictus, France
    4. Anopheles atroparvus, Spain
    5. Anopheles coluzzii, Mali
    6. Anopheles darlingi, French Guyane
    7. Anopheles funestus, Burkina Faso
    8. Culex pipiens, England

New distributable hard tick colony (2018-19)

  • Hyalomma marginatum, vector of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus

New distributable Plasmodium falciparum lines (2018-19)

malaria-infected-cells

Malaria infected cells (©Institut Pasteur)

  • From different geographic populations
  • Gametocyte-producing clonal lines adapted for culture and mosquito infection
  • Sequenced, with genetic fingerprint test for authentication

Infravec2 recommends that researchers obtain arbovirus stocks at no cost from the EU-funded European Virus Archive, EVAg 

  • EVAg virus stocks are authenticated and quality controlled

Improved vector reference genome assemblies

Illumina

Illumina® sequencing instrument (©Illumina Inc.)

  • Many vector reference genomes are fragmented and poorly annotated
  • Infravec2 will improve reference genomes of two vector species
  • Species chosen for public health significance, expected positive research impact of new genome tools, and absence current improvement project for the species.
    1. Anopheles darlingi: major human malaria vector in South America
    2. Phlebotomus perniciosus: European sandfly vector of Leishmania and emerging human arboviral diseases caused by phleboviruses
  • Sequencing, assembly and long range mapping will be used to resolve gaps and improve sequence quality

Distributable vector genetic editing tools for Aedes aegypti & Anopheles coluzzii

Transgenic Anopheles larvae

Transgenic Anopheles larvae (©University of Glasgow)

  • CRISPR/Cas9 tools for targeted gene disruption
  • Mosquito lines with docking sites for integration of transgenes

Develop and disseminate an experimental infection system for sandfly infection with emerging arboviruses

Sandflies species

Sandfly species (©Ray Wilson)

Sandflies species

Sandfly species (©Ray Wilson)

  • Viruses transmitted by sandflies (phleboviruses) are an emerging public health threat in Europe and elsewhere, but research tools are lacking
  • Develop and disseminate standard conditions for experimental sandfly infection (Phlebotomus perniciosus) with model phlebovirus (Toscana virus, Bunyaviridae)
  • Improve Phlebotomus perniciosus genome assembly to aid functional studies of sandfly-virus interactions