Despite structural identity, ace-1 heterogenous duplication resistance alleles are quite diverse in Anopheles mosquitoes
Anopheles gambiae s.l. has been the target of intense insecticide treatment since the mid-20th century to try and control malaria. A substitution in the ace-1 locus has been rapidly selected for, allowing resistance to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Since then, two types of duplication of the ace-1 locus have been found in An. gambiae s.l. populations: homogeneous duplications that are composed of several resistance copies, or heterogeneous duplications that contain both resistance and susceptible copies. The substitution induces a trade-off between resistance in the presence of insecticides and disadvantages in their absence: the heterogeneous duplications allow the fixation of the intermediate heterozygote phenotype.
Claret, JL., Di-Liegro, M., Namias, A. et al. Despite structural identity, ace-1 heterogenous duplication resistance alleles are quite diverse in Anopheles mosquitoes. Heredity (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-024-00670-9