Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé Direction Régionale de l'Ouest: Developing optimized implementation strategies to improve the efficiency of genetic control approaches against malaria vectors in Burkina Faso.

Genetic control approaches through application of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene drives represent a promising strategy to control vector borne diseases such as malaria. While the technology is still being optimized, there is urgent need to address several knowledge gaps crucial for safe and effective field implementation. One of the most important need is to elucidate ecological processes that will influence spread and persistence of transgenes in wild mosquito populations; such as mosquito migration and aestivation. This research project aims to understand these phenomena with the objective of developing a reliable field data-based predictive model of transgene diffusion in the field. Short and long-range migration, aestivation and spatial population dynamics of An. gambiae (s.l.) will be explored in a group of village clusters in Burkina Faso, to understand their relative contribution to the sustainability and spread of malaria mosquitoes across different ecological settings. Activities will include sequential mark-release-recapture experiments to quantify and characterize dispersal and survival using long- term marking approaches and entomological surveillance to measure spatial population dynamics and highlight the role of aestivation. All these data will be used to inform and build accurate modelling tools for vector control. Keywords: Genetic control, Gene drive, Mosquito migration, Mosquito aestivation, Mark-Release-Recapture, predictive model.

Programme: International Training Fellowship

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