Multiple Origins of Knockdown Resistance Mutations in the Afrotropical Mosquito Vector Anopheles gambiae

How often insecticide resistance mutations arise in natural insect populations is a fundamental question for understanding the evolution of resistance and also for modeling its spread. Moreover, the development of resistance is regarded as a favored model to study the molecular evolution of adaptive traits. In the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae two point mutations (L1014F and L1014S) in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene, that confer knockdown resistance (kdr) to DDT and pyrethroid insecticides, have been described. In order to determine whether resistance alleles result from single or multiple mutation events, genotyping of the kdr locus and partial sequencing of the upstream intron-1 was performed on a total of 288 A. gambiae S-form collected from 28 localities in 15 countries. Knockdown resistance alleles were found to be widespread in West Africa with co-occurrence of both 1014S and 1014F in West-Central localities. Differences in intron-1 haplotype composition suggest that kdr alleles may have arisen from at least four independent mutation events. Neutrality tests provided evidence for a selective sweep acting on this genomic region, particularly in West Africa. The frequency and distribution of these kdr haplotypes varied geographically, being influenced by an interplay between different mutational occurrences, gene flow and local selection. This has important practical implications for the management and sustainability of malaria vector control programs

Caenorhabditis briggsae Recombinant Inbred Line Genotypes Reveal Inter-Strain Incompatibility and the Evolution of Recombination

The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is an emerging model organism that allows evolutionary comparisons with C. elegans and exploration of its own unique biological attributes. To produce a high-resolution C. briggsae recombination map, recombinant inbred lines were generated from reciprocal crosses between two strains and genotyped at over 1,000 loci. A second set of recombinant inbred lines involving a third strain was also genotyped at lower resolution. The resulting recombination maps exhibit discrete domains of high and low recombination, as in C. elegans, indicating these are a general feature of Caenorhabditis species. The proportion of a chromosome's physical size occupied by the central, low-recombination domain is highly correlated between species. However, the C. briggsae intra-species comparison reveals striking variation in the distribution of recombination between domains. Hybrid lines made with the more divergent pair of strains also exhibit pervasive marker transmission ratio distortion, evidence of selection acting on hybrid genotypes. The strongest effect, on chromosome III, is explained by a developmental delay phenotype exhibited by some hybrid F2 animals. In addition, on chromosomes IV and V, cross direction-specific biases towards one parental genotype suggest the existence of cytonuclear epistatic interactions. These interactions are discussed in relation to surprising mitochondrial genome polymorphism in C. briggsae, evidence that the two strains diverged in allopatry, the potential for local adaptation, and the evolution of Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. The genetic and genomic resources resulting from this work will support future efforts to understand inter-strain divergence as well as facilitate studies of gene function, natural variation, and the evolution of recombination in Caenorhabditis nematodes

Measurement of urokinase-type plasminogen-activator (u-pa) with an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay (elisa) based on 3 murine monoclonal-antibodies

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the measurement of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) was developed. Three murine monoclonal antibodies to single chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (scu-PA) were isolated and shown to react with non-overlapping epitopes in scu-PA. Two of the three antibodies were coated onto microtiter plates and bound u-PA was quantitated with the third antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. The assay was equally sensitive to Mr 54,000 u-PA in the single chain or two-chain form but did not respond to Mr 33,000 urokinase. The lower limit of sensitivity of the assay was 0.1 ng/ml in buffer and 1 ng/ml in plasma. Coefficients of variation of the assay at physiological levels of u-PA were 6.5 percent within assays and 13 percent between assays. The level of u-PA in normal resting plasma was 1.9 +/- 0.66 ng/ml (mean +/- SD, n = 54). The assay can be performed within one working day and provides an efficient, reproducible, and stable means for the measurement of u-PA in biological fluids. As such it may facilitate physiological and pharmacological studies of urokinase-type plasminogen activators in man.status: publishe