The sequencing of the genome of Anopheles gambiae (principal mosquito vector of malaria), which benefited from preliminary work performed by Genoscope (the French National Sequencing Center) and the Pasteur Institute in Paris, has just been completed by an international consortium*. The consortium, which was created on March 3, 2001 at the Pasteur Institute, has published the genomic sequence of the mosquito in the October 4 issue of the journal Science. The Delegate Minister for Research and New Technologies was delighted with this landmark result, and congratulated the French groups involved.

Malaria (over a million deaths and 300 million cases annually) is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted to humans by the female anopheline mosquito. Resistance to anti-malarial drugs by the parasite is increasing at present, as well as insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. Perspectives in the struggle against this disease have been clouded by problems in the development of new drugs and a vaccine. In this context, control of transmission of the parasite by the mosquito appears to be one of the most promising approaches in the fight against this disease. This will require an deeper understanding of the biology of the mosquito.

Barely three years ago, databases contained less than 10 complete genes from Anopheles. With the genomic sequence which is published today, scientists estimate that they now have 14,000 genes available, among which some are implicated in the transmission of the parasite, in the mosquito's resistance to insecticides, in its sense of smell and in its immunity. The analysis of these genes should eventually lead to the development of the means to control malaria transmission, and notably to a more rational use of insecticides and the creation of new mosquito repellants.

Genoscope performed part of the sequencing, and as such received financing for one million euros from the Ministry of Research, in addition to the 1.5 million euros of its annual subsidy. The main part of the sequencing was performed by the American company Celera Genomics, which received 9 million dollars in financing from the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). The Pasteur Institute and Genoscope will continue their collaboration in order to improve the quality and interpretation of the sequence data, which has been freely accessible since March 2002. To better exploit this data, the Pasteur Institute has launched a "Grand Programme Horizontal de Recherche Anophèle," with 11 teams from its Paris campus and two institutes from the international network of Pasteur Institutes and associated institutions (Dakar and Madagascar).

With the imminent completion of the sequence of the human genome, an abundance of genomic information will be available on all three actors in the disease : human, Plasmodium and Anopheles. This is a unique situation for a parasitic disease, and it should now be exploited.

Source :

" The genome sequence of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae ", Science, October 4, 2002.


Contacts :

French Ministry for Research :
Muriel Elghouzzi - tel : 33 (0)1 55 55 83 28 / muriel.elghouzzi@recherche.gouv.fr

Pasteur Institute :
Nadine Peyrolo - 33 (0)1 45 68 81 47 / presse@pasteur.fr

Genoscope :
Press contact : Yann Esnault - 33 (0)1 60 87 84 50 / yesnault@genoscope.cns.fr
Scientific contact : Patrick Wincker - 33 (0)1 60 87 25 68 / pwincker@genoscope.cns.fr (not before October 7)

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For further informations :

Read the article : "Sequencing the Anopheles gambiae mosquito genome : the prospects"

Why sequencing Anopheles gambiae