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Anopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has spread into the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments partly results from an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. Some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation are known, but the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet. As a first step toward assessing the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, we sequenced using long reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated TEs in these genomes and in an additional high-quality An. coluzzii genome, and we identified 64 new TE families. TEs were nonrandomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity, and several TEs that may provide promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes. Overall, the analysis of multiple high-quality genomes allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotation in this species to date and identify several TE insertions that could potentially impact both genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.

Michelle Bignoumba,1,2 Kelly H Mbombe Moghoa,1,3 Jean Ulrich Muandze-Nzambe,1,4 Roland Fabrice Kassa Kassa,1 Yann Mouanga Ndzime,1 Amahani Gafou,1 Neil Michel Longo Pendy,3 Richard Onanga,1 Brice Serge Kumulungui1,2 1Medical Analysis Research Unit (URAM)/Bacteriology, International Center for Medical Research (CIRMF), Franceville, BP 769, Gabon; 2Doctoral School of Science and Technology, Masuku University of Science and Technology (USTM), Franceville, BP 067, Gabon; 3Central African Regional Doctoral School in Tropical Infectiology (ECODRAC), Masuku University of Science and Technology (USTM), Franceville, BP 876, Gabon; 4Laboratory of Biochemistry and Applied Immunology (LABIA), Department de Biochimie-Microbiologie, Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Ouagadougou 03, 03 BP 7021, Burkina FasoCorrespondence: Michelle Bignoumba, Tel +24162521247, Email Bignoumba_michelle@yahoo.frIntroduction: Discomfort in women of childbearing age associated with vaginal infections, namely bacterial vaginosis (BV), aerobic vaginitis (AV), vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), and trichomoniasis (TV), represent a serious and ongoing gynecological complication throughout the world.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the etiologies of vaginal infections among outpatients in south-eastern Gabon.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was designed using participants referred directly by their treating doctor for a vaginal swab. Socio-demographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Microscopic examinations were used for TV and BV diagnostic. All vaginal swabs were cultured for AV and VVC isolates using standard microbiology methods.Results: A total of 573 women of reproductive age participated in the study. The most common identified vaginal infections were BV (62.8%) and AV (51.1%) followed by VVC (34.1%). No significant difference was observed for each etiology compared to socio-demographic data. Streptococcus B (23.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (17.7%), Klebsiella spp. (11.6%), a

[Background] Anopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has colonized the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments is partly due to an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. While some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation, including chromosome rearrangements and introgressions, are known, the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet. To assess the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, the first step is to accurately annotate TE insertions in the genomes of natural populations collected in urban settings., [Results] We sequenced using long-reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated the complete set of TEs in these genomes and in an additional high quality An. coluzzii genome available and identified 64 previously undescribed TE families. TEs were non-randomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity. Moreover, we identified several TE insertions providing promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes., [Conclusions] The analysis of multiple genomes sequenced using long-read technologies allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotations in this species to date. We identified several TE insertions that could potentially impact both genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes in An. coluzzii. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.

[Background] Anopheles coluzzii is one of the primary vectors of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, it has colonized the main cities of Central Africa threatening vector control programs. The adaptation of An. coluzzii to urban environments is partly due to an increased tolerance to organic pollution and insecticides. While some of the molecular mechanisms for ecological adaptation, including chromosome rearrangements and introgressions, are known, the role of transposable elements (TEs) in the adaptive processes of this species has not been studied yet., [Results] To better understand the role of TEs in rapid urban adaptation, we sequenced using long-reads six An. coluzzii genomes from natural breeding sites in two major Central Africa cities. We de novo annotated the complete set of TEs and identified 64 previously undescribed families. TEs were non-randomly distributed throughout the genome with significant differences in the number of insertions of several superfamilies across the studied genomes. We identified seven putatively active families with insertions near genes with functions related to vectorial capacity. Moreover, we identified several TE insertions providing promoter and transcription factor binding sites to insecticide resistance and immune-related genes., [Conclusions] The analysis of multiple genomes sequenced using long-read technologies allowed us to generate the most comprehensive TE annotations in this species to date. We found that TEs have an impact in both the genome architecture and the regulation of functionally relevant genes in An. coluzzii. These results provide a basis for future studies of the impact of TEs on the biology of An. coluzzii.