Fitness traits and genetic characterization of a new laboratory colony of Anopheles funestus established in Ifakara, Tanzania.
16 affiliations
- 1Environmental Health and Ecological Science Department, Ifakara Health Institute, P. O. Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania. [email protected].
- 2School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK. [email protected].
- 3Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. [email protected].
- 4Environmental Health and Ecological Science Department, Ifakara Health Institute, P. O. Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania.
- 5School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
- 6Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- 7Vector Control Reference Laboratory, Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Services, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- 8School of Life Science and Bioengineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P. O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania.
- 9Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Huxley Building, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK.
- 10Institute for Disease Modelling, Bellevue, WA, 98005, USA.
- 11Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Kreuzgasse 2, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland.
- 12Medical Entomology Department, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), P.O. Box 13501, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
- 13Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L35QA, UK.
- 14Environmental Health and Ecological Science Department, Ifakara Health Institute, P. O. Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania. [email protected].
- 15School of Life Science and Bioengineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P. O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania. [email protected].
- 16School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Anopheles funestus, a major vector of malaria in Africa, has proven difficult to colonize in laboratory settings, impeding research on its biology and control. After several attempts, our team recently succeeded in colonizing a strain of An. funestus from Tanzania (FUTAZ). The objective of this study was to analyze the key fitness and genotypic characteristics of these mosquitoes during multiple filial generations of laboratory adaptation and compare them to wild An. funestus from Tanzania and a pre-existing colony of An. funestus from Mozambique (FUMOZ).Methods
Measures of mating success, body size, fecundity, and insecticide resistance were compared between the newly established FUTAZ colonies, the long-established FUMOZ colonies, and a colony of Anopheles arabiensis maintained in the same laboratory. The maternal lineages of the An. funestus mosquitoes were investigated through a hydrolysis probe analysis of their mitochondrial DNA to identify distinct clades. Other intragenomic variations were examined by D3-RFLP genotyping of 28S ribosomal DNA. These molecular markers were used to compare the FUTAZ colonies, FUMOZ colonies in Tanzania (TZ) and South African (SA) laboratories, and the wild-collected Tanzanian An. funestus.Results
The mating success and body size of FUTAZ females declined significantly from filial generations F1 to F6 relative to the founder population (F0) then increased from F7 onwards, eventually matching FUMOZ by F9. Fecundity was similar across all colonies tested. However, it took significantly longer for 50% of the females in the FUTAZ and FUMOZ colonies (> 10 days) to mate compared to females in the An. arabiensis colony (~ 5 days). Resistance appeared to be lost during colonization, but this varied with insecticide classes. Majority of FUTAZ mosquitoes, and the wild-caught Tanzanian An. funestus belonged to Clade I (80.4-89.4%) and RFLP type "Y" (90.5-91.4%), while FUMOZ colonies in TZ and SA were mostly Clade II (65.5-88.5%) and RFLP type "MW" (90.5-91.5%).Conclusions
This study demonstrates that certain fitness traits of An. funestus, notably mating success and body size, declined during the initial phases of laboratory colonization but recovered as the population adapted to laboratory conditions. Having large founder populations is critical to survive these early-generation bottlenecks. Clade-specific and RFLP genotyping confirmed FUTAZ colony as genetically representative of wild-caught Tanzanian An. funestus. This newly established colony constitutes a valuable and reliable resource for malaria vector research.
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BibTeX
@article{hape2026fitness,
title = {{Fitness traits and genetic characterization of a new laboratory colony of Anopheles funestus established in Ifakara, Tanzania.}},
author = {Emmanuel E Hape and Rukiyah M Njalambaha and Letus L Muyaga and Doreen J Siria and Ismail H Nambunga and Joseph P Mgando and Dickson D Mwasheshi and Neema K Nombo and Daniel M Mabula and Munyaradzi P Zengenene and Najat F Kahamba and Joel O Odero and Halfan S Ngowo and Salum A Mapua and Prosper P Chaki and Nicodem J Govella and Issa N Lyimo and Samson S Kiware and Dickson W Lwetoijera and Brian B Tarimo and Emmanuel W Kaindoa and Prashanth Selvaraj and Frederic Tripet and Charles S Wondji and Francesco Baldini and Lizette L Koekemoer and Heather M Ferguson and Fredros O Okumu},
journal = {Parasites \& vectors},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s13071-026-07554-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43010056},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fitness traits and genetic characterization of a new laboratory colony of Anopheles funestus established in Ifakara, Tanzania.
AU - Emmanuel E Hape
AU - Rukiyah M Njalambaha
AU - Letus L Muyaga
AU - Doreen J Siria
AU - Ismail H Nambunga
AU - Joseph P Mgando
AU - Dickson D Mwasheshi
AU - Neema K Nombo
AU - Daniel M Mabula
AU - Munyaradzi P Zengenene
AU - Najat F Kahamba
AU - Joel O Odero
AU - Halfan S Ngowo
AU - Salum A Mapua
AU - Prosper P Chaki
AU - Nicodem J Govella
AU - Issa N Lyimo
AU - Samson S Kiware
AU - Dickson W Lwetoijera
AU - Brian B Tarimo
AU - Emmanuel W Kaindoa
AU - Prashanth Selvaraj
AU - Frederic Tripet
AU - Charles S Wondji
AU - Francesco Baldini
AU - Lizette L Koekemoer
AU - Heather M Ferguson
AU - Fredros O Okumu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/13
JO - Parasites & vectors
DO - 10.1186/s13071-026-07554-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43010056
AB - Background Anopheles funestus, a major vector of malaria in Africa, has proven difficult to colonize in laboratory settings, impeding research on its biology and control. After several attempts, our team recently succeeded in colonizing a strain of An. funestus from Tanzania (FUTAZ). The objective of this study was to analyze the key fitness and genotypic characteristics of these mosquitoes during multiple filial generations of laboratory adaptation and compare them to wild An. funestus from Tanzania and a pre-existing colony of An. funestus from Mozambique (FUMOZ).Methods Measures of mating success, body size, fecundity, and insecticide resistance were compared between the newly established FUTAZ colonies, the long-established FUMOZ colonies, and a colony of Anopheles arabiensis maintained in the same laboratory. The maternal lineages of the An. funestus mosquitoes were investigated through a hydrolysis probe analysis of their mitochondrial DNA to identify distinct clades. Other intragenomic variations were examined by D3-RFLP genotyping of 28S ribosomal DNA. These molecular markers were used to compare the FUTAZ colonies, FUMOZ colonies in Tanzania (TZ) and South African (SA) laboratories, and the wild-collected Tanzanian An. funestus.Results The mating success and body size of FUTAZ females declined significantly from filial generations F1 to F6 relative to the founder population (F0) then increased from F7 onwards, eventually matching FUMOZ by F9. Fecundity was similar across all colonies tested. However, it took significantly longer for 50% of the females in the FUTAZ and FUMOZ colonies (> 10 days) to mate compared to females in the An. arabiensis colony (~ 5 days). Resistance appeared to be lost during colonization, but this varied with insecticide classes. Majority of FUTAZ mosquitoes, and the wild-caught Tanzanian An. funestus belonged to Clade I (80.4-89.4%) and RFLP type "Y" (90.5-91.4%), while FUMOZ colonies in TZ and SA were mostly Clade II (65.5-88.5%) and RFLP type "MW" (90.5-91.5%).Conclusions This study demonstrates that certain fitness traits of An. funestus, notably mating success and body size, declined during the initial phases of laboratory colonization but recovered as the population adapted to laboratory conditions. Having large founder populations is critical to survive these early-generation bottlenecks. Clade-specific and RFLP genotyping confirmed FUTAZ colony as genetically representative of wild-caught Tanzanian An. funestus. This newly established colony constitutes a valuable and reliable resource for malaria vector research.
SN - 1756-3305
ER -