The Genome Sequence of the Malaria Mosquito
Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Holt Robert A. , Subramanian G. Mani , Halpern Aaron , Sutton Granger G. , Charlab Rosane , Nusskern Deborah R. , Wincker Patrick , Clark Andrew G. , Ribeiro JoséM. C. , Wides Ron , Salzberg Steven L. , Loftus Brendan , Yandell Mark , Majoros William H. , Rusch Douglas B. , Lai Zhongwu , Kraft Cheryl L. , Abril Josep F. , Anthouard Veronique , Arensburger Peter , Atkinson Peter W. , Baden Holly , de Berardinis Veronique , Baldwin Danita , Benes Vladimir , Biedler Jim , Blass Claudia , Bolanos Randall , Boscus Didier , Barnstead Mary , Cai Shuang , Center Angela , Chatuverdi Kabir , Christophides George K. , Chrystal Mathew A. , Clamp Michele , Cravchik Anibal , Curwen Val , Dana Ali , Delcher Art , Dew Ian , Evans Cheryl A. , Flanigan Michael , Grundschober-Freimoser Anne , Friedli Lisa , Gu Zhiping , Guan Ping , Guigo Roderic , Hillenmeyer Maureen E. , Hladun Susanne L. , Hogan James R. , Hong Young S. , Hoover Jeffrey , Jaillon Olivier , Ke Zhaoxi , Kodira Chinnappa , Kokoza Elena , Koutsos Anastasios , Letunic Ivica , Levitsky Alex , Liang Yong , Lin Jhy-Jhu , Lobo Neil F. , Lopez John R. , Malek Joel A. , McIntosh Tina C. , Meister Stephan , Miller Jason , Mobarry Clark , Mongin Emmanuel , Murphy Sean D. , O'Brochta David A. , Pfannkoch Cynthia , Qi Rong , Regier Megan A. , Remington Karin , Shao Hongguang , Sharakhova Maria V. , Sitter Cynthia D. , Shetty Jyoti , Smith Thomas J. , Strong Renee , Sun Jingtao , Thomasova Dana , Ton Lucas Q. , Topalis Pantelis , Tu Zhijian , Unger Maria F. , Walenz Brian , Wang Aihui , Wang Jian , Wang Mei , Wang Xuelan , Woodford Kerry J. , Wortman Jennifer R. , Wu Martin , Yao Alison , Zdobnov Evgeny M. , Zhang Hongyu , Zhao Qi , Zhao Shaying , Zhu Shiaoping C. , Zhimulev Igor , Coluzzi Mario , della Torre Alessandra , Roth Charles W. , Louis Christos , Kalush Francis , Mural Richard J. , Myers Eugene W. , Adams Mark D. , Smith Hamilton O. , Broder Samuel , Gardner Malcolm J. , Fraser Claire M. , Birney Ewan , Bork Peer , Brey Paul T. , Venter J. Craig , Weissenbach Jean , Kafatos Fotis C. , Collins Frank H. , Hoffman Stephen L. 
Published: October 2002

Anopheles gambiae
is the principal vector of malaria, a disease that afflicts more than 500 million people and causes more than 1 million deaths each year. Tenfold shotgun sequence coverage was obtained from the PEST strain of
A. gambiae
and assembled into scaffolds that span 278 million base pairs. A total of 91% of the genome was organized in 303 scaffolds; the largest scaffold was 23.1 million base pairs. There was substantial genetic variation within this strain, and the apparent existence of two haplotypes of approximately equal frequency (“dual haplotypes”) in a substantial fraction of the genome likely reflects the outbred nature of the PEST strain. The sequence produced a conservative inference of more than 400,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms that showed a markedly bimodal density distribution. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed strong evidence for about 14,000 protein-encoding transcripts. Prominent expansions in specific families of proteins likely involved in cell adhesion and immunity were noted. An expressed sequence tag analysis of genes regulated by blood feeding provided insights into the physiological adaptations of a hematophagous insect.