Project

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Name of Applicant : Catherine Bourgouin
Date of application : 22-08-2018
Unit : Functional Genetics of Infectious Diseases
Location : Centre François Jacob (26) > 5ème étage > 15A
Phone : 0145688224
@ Mail : catherine.bourgouin@pasteur.fr

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Project context and summary :

Despite the worldwide importance of malaria due to Plasmodium vivax, there is currently almost no data on the molecular responses of the Anopheles mosquito vectors to this parasite species. Understanding these responses will contribute to identify relevant strategies to interrupt the transmission of P. vivax by targeting the mosquito vector. Such approaches are urgently needed, as P. vivax is difficult to target on the long term in humans as a consequence of the hypnozoite stage that is responsible for relapses. This project will investigate the molecular response of Anopheles arabiensis, member of the Anopheles gambiae complex, to P. vivax from experimental infections performed in Madagascar where both mosquito and parasite are present. This is a unique situation that will capitalize on the strong knowledge and tools available for An. gambiae sensu lato. The response will be compared to the one triggered by P. falciparum, also present in Madagascar. From mosquitoes infected in a field setting, a transcriptomic (RNAseq) approach will be used to identify common and unique pathways to both parasite species. These analyses will further contribute to identify targets for interrupting transmission of each or both parasites simultaneously. However, a pilot study performed with the PF transcriptomics & epigenomics revealed that the current release of the An. arabiensis genome is poorly annotated. Therefore, to be able to make sens of the RNAseq analyses per se, a strong support from the C3BI Hub for bioinformatics and biostatistics is critical.

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