Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 13, 2025
High-throughput Physical Mapping of Chromosomes using Automated in situ Hybridization
Published on: June 28, 2012
Chromosome-level genome assemblies of the malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles arabiensis
Anton Zamyatin1, Pavel Avdeyev2,3, Jiangtao Liang4,5
1Computer Technologies Laboratory, ITMO University, Kronverkskiy Prospekt 49-A, Saint Petersburg 197101, Russia.
Background:
Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles arabiensis belong to the Anopheles gambiae complex and are among the major malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa. However, chromosome-level reference genome assemblies are still lacking for these medically important mosquito species.
Findings:
In this study, we produced de novo chromosome-level genome assemblies for A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis using the long-read Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology and the Hi-C scaffolding approach. We obtained 273.4 and 256.8 Mb of the total assemblies for A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis, respectively. Each assembly consists of 3 chromosome-scale scaffolds (X, 2, 3), complete mitochondrion, and unordered contigs identified as autosomal pericentromeric DNA, X pericentromeric DNA, and Y sequences. Comparison of these assemblies with the existing assemblies for these species demonstrated that we obtained improved reference-quality genomes. The new assemblies allowed us to identify genomic coordinates for the breakpoint regions of fixed and polymorphic chromosomal inversions in A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis.
Conclusion:
The new chromosome-level assemblies will facilitate functional and population genomic studies in A. coluzzii and A. arabiensis. The presented assembly pipeline will accelerate progress toward creating high-quality genome references for other disease vectors.
