# Development of high-quality reference genomes for Anopheles squamosus and An. cydippis

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $62,270

## Abstract

Project Summary
Despite the tremendous effort to minimize the impacts of malaria in southern Africa, it has yet to be eliminated
from this region. Many understudied mosquito vector species inhabit this area and may be perpetuating
malaria transmission in this pre-elimination zone. Anopheles squamosus is one of the most abundantly caught
mosquito species in southern Zambia. This species is also frequently infected with Plasmodium falciparum, a
causal agent of human malaria, leading to the hypothesis that it is a critical vector of malaria transmission in
Zambia. A major barrier of testing this hypothesis and studying An. squamosus is the lack of genetic
information. In addition to this barrier, An. squamosus is indistinguishable from An. cydippis in the adult stage,
making it difficult to establish links between genotypes to phenotypes important for parasite transmission and
vector control, including vector competence, insecticide resistance, and host preference. This study addresses
these two key barriers by (1) producing high-quality genomes of An. squamosus and An. cydippis, (2)
identifying genetic polymorphisms within An. squamosus, and (3) producing gene annotation of An.
squamosus genome. The genome of An. squamosus will facilitate the identification of species-specific markers
for a diagnostic assay that can be used to distinguish this species from other mosquitoes. Our project will
catalyze the study of An. squamosus and other understudied malaria vectors, as well as their impacts on
malaria transmission. The new genomic resources for An. squamosus can be leveraged for studying mosquito
vector behavior and devise effective control strategies of understudied malaria vectors in pre-elimination
settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10846710
- **Project number:** 5R03AI178041-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yoosook Lee
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $62,270
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-23 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10846710

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10846710, Development of high-quality reference genomes for Anopheles squamosus and An. cydippis (5R03AI178041-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10846710. Licensed CC0.

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