Chromosome evolution in malaria mosquitoes inferred from physically mapped genome assemblies

Abstract

Polymorphic inversions in mosquitoes are distributed nonrandomly among chromosomes and are associated with ecological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations related to pathogen transmission. Despite their significance, the patterns and mechanism of genome rearrangements are not well understood. Recent sequencing and physical mapping of the genomes for 16 Anopheles mosquito species provided an opportunity to study chromosome evolution at the highest resolution. New studies revealed that fixed rearrangement accumulated [Formula: see text]3 times faster on the X chromosome than on autosomes. The highest densities of transposable elements (TEs) and satellites of different sizes have also been found on the X chromosome, suggesting a mechanism for the inversion generation. The high rate of X chromosome rearrangements is in sharp contrast with the paucity of polymorphic inversions on the X in the majority of anopheline species. This paper highlights the advances in understanding chromosome evolution in malaria vectors and discusses possible future directions in studying mechanisms and biological roles of genome rearrangements.