About
Invited speaker:
Elena A. Levashina, PhD
Vector Biology Unit – Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
10117 Berlin
GERMANY
Abstract:
The fitness of a mosquito-borne Plasmodium parasite, the causative malaria agent, is closely linked to the ecology and evolution of its anopheline vector. Recent spectacular technological advances identified and finely mapped geographical distribution of principal malaria vectors. However, we still do not know whether vector dynamics predicts malaria transmission. Genetic screens, usually performed in laboratory with one mosquito species, generated lists of genes that contribute to vectorial capacity as defined by some convenient endpoint, e.g. prevalence of infection, parasite load, fertility, attraction to a particular scent. This information is often of little help for modelling Plasmodium abundance in a selected mosquito population, particularly when genetic structure requires all parameters to be population specific. There is an urgent need for new approaches that simplify the model but still deliver quantitative predictions. In my talk, I will discuss approaches for complex system analyses that can be applied to vector biology.
