The Anopheles gambiae ABC transporter family: phylogenetic analysis and tissue localisation provide clues on function and role in insecticide resistance.

The role of ABC transporters in conferring insecticide resistance has received much attention recently. Here we identify ABC transporters differentially expressed in insecticide resistant populations of the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. Although we found little evidence that the orthologs of the multidrug resistance proteins described in other species are associated with resistance in An. gambiae we did identify a subset of ABC proteins consistently differentially expressed in pyrethroid resistant populations from across Africa. We present information on the phylogenetic relationship, primary sites of expression and potential role of ABC transporters in mediating the mosquito’s response to insecticides. Furthermore we demonstrate that a paralogous group of eight ABCG transporters, clustered on chromosome 3R are highly enriched in the legs of An. gambiae mosquitoes, consistent with a proposed role for this ABC subfamily in transport of lipids to the outer surface of the cuticle. Finally, antibodies raised against one of the most highly expressed ABC transporters in adult females, ABCG7 (AGAP009850), localised this transporter to the pericardial cells. This data will help prioritise members of this gene family for further localisation and functional validation studies to identify the in vivo function of these transporters in the mosquito and determine whether elevated expression of members of this family contribute to insecticide resistance.