Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

A Multi-detection Assay for Malaria Transmitting Mosquitoes
Published on: February 28, 2015
Locus- and population-specific selection and differentiation between incipient species of Anopheles gambiae
Thomas L Turner1, Matthew W Hahn
1Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, USA. tlturner@ucdavis.edu
Abstract:
Anopheles gambiae, the primary mosquito vector of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, is divided into 2 sympatric incipient species known as M form and S form. Recent genomic analysis of each form revealed that differentiation between forms is clustered into 3 unlinked regions of the genome. Here, we expand the investigation of these "genomic islands of speciation" to multiple populations, including all of the genes across one of the islands. Differentiation between the M and S forms in 2 of the islands is complete across all individuals in all populations, confirming that the M and S forms are reproductively isolated taxa. Differentiation at the third island (on chromosome 2R) is limited to Cameroon populations. There is reduced variation in the M form in Cameroon at this location and increased divergence to the outgroup Anopheles arabiensis, supporting an association of adaptation with reproductive isolation.
Related Concept Videos
Frequency-dependent Selection
Types of Selection
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
Genetics of Speciation
Gene Flow
What is Population Genetics?

