Metabolic insecticide resistance DNA markers in malaria vectors

Metabolic resistance to insecticides in malaria vectors is jeopardizing control strategies. Unlike target-site resistance, metabolic resistance is more complex, making causative variants harder to pinpoint and design field-applicable diagnostics. Recently, multiomics approaches have helped detect several DNA markers in detoxification genes (cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases) in major vectors, including Anopheles gambiae (CYP6P4, CYP6P3, GSTe2) and Anopheles funestus (CYP6P9a/b, CYP6P4a/b, CYP9K1, GSTe2, ASL). These markers now support resistance management by assessing spatiotemporal resistance evolution, its impact on control tools, cross-resistance patterns, fitness costs, and malaria transmission. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge on the discovery of these markers, highlight available DNA-based diagnostic methods for operational genomic surveillance, and outline priorities for extending this framework to new insecticides and other vector species.