Quantitative trait loci for refractoriness of Anopheles gambiae to Plasmodium cynomolgi B

The severity of the malaria pandemic in the tropics is aggravated by the ongoing spread of parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs and mosquito resistance to insecticides. A strain of Anopheles gambiae, normally a major vector for human malaria in Africa, can encapsulate and kill the malaria parasites within a melanin-rich capsule in the mosquito midgut. Genetic mapping revealed one major and two minor quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for this encapsulation reaction. Understanding such antiparasite mechanisms in mosquitoes may lead to new strategies for malaria control.