Anopheles gambiae

Diversity in An. gambiae View in CoL genes HPX15 and APN1

In contrast to P47Rec, both HPX15 and APN1 were highly diverse at the amino acid level. Phylogenetic analysis supported multiple distinct groups for HPX15 (bootstrap values> 70) but not for APN1 (bootstrap values <70). Te observed subspecies differentiation in HPX15 indicates the potential for this gene to serve as a driver of selection on its matching P. falciparum gene in the parasite. Further investigation of this locus coupled with the identification of its corresponding P. falciparum surface proteins will elucidate whether vector-population-mediated selective pressure is occurring. We anticipate detecting signatures of balancing selection in the HPX15 ligand(s) protein within P. falciparum populations across Africa due to the subpopulation variation observed at this locus on An. gambiae .