Researchers in Ghana have partnered with Target Malaria, the University of Oxford, and the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph, to understand the Anopheles gambiae mosquito’s role in the broader ecosystem.
Target Malaria aims to reduce malaria transmission by reducing the population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes using genetic technologies. Researchers want to know the ecological implications of reducing mosquito populations -the key vector for malaria in Africa.
How? Researchers are using #DNA 🧬 barcoding technologies to catalogue Ghana's insect community. They will then use this catalogue, or DNA barcode library, to identify the insect species eaten by local birds, bats, insect-eating arthropods, and the host species in a mosquito blood meal. Metabarcoding techniques are used to glean this data so researchers can further identify DNA🧬 fragments by matching sequences to the local DNA barcode library.
Using these data to construct an ecological network, researchers will quantitatively demonstrate how Anopheles gambiae connects to other ecosystem members. These efforts demonstrate DNA barcoding’s power and its ability to reveal the nature and intensity of interactions among all species.
Target Malaria is part of BIOSCAN, a global research program that aims to revolutionize our understanding of biodiversity and our capacity to manage it. Led by the International Barcode of Life Consortium, BIOSCAN has three research themes: Species Discovery, Species Interactions, and Species Dynamics. The data collected by Target Malaria will significantly contribute to BIOSCAN’s Species Interactions theme.
iBOL (International Barcode of Life Consortium) involves researchers in 30+ nations who share a mission to transform biodiversity science through DNA-based approaches with DNA barcoding at its core. iBOL works in partnership with academic, government, and private sector organizations.
For more information on Target Malaria in Ghana visit: barcodebulletin.com
For more information on BIOSCAN and iBOL visit: ibol.org
#DNABarcoding
#DNABarcodes
#EndMalaria
#MalariaResearch
#GeneDrive
Video footage provided by:
The Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Canada
Lema Concepts Africa
9 июл 2024
