Transposable element (TE) display and rapid detection of TE insertion polymorphism in the Anopheles gambiae species complex

Transposable element (TE) display was shown to be a highly specific and reproducible method of detecting the insertion sites of TEs in individuals of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae , and its sibling species, A. arabiensis . Relatively high levels of insertion polymorphism were observed during the TE display of several families of miniature inverted-repeat TEs (MITEs) that have variable copy numbers. The genomic locations of selected insertion sites were identified by matching the sequences of their corresponding bands in a TE display gel to specific regions of the draft A. gambiae genome assembly. We discuss different scenarios in which TE display will provide powerful dominant and co-dominant genetic markers to study the behaviour of TEs in A. gambiae populations and to illustrate the complex population genetics of this intriguing disease vector. We suggest that TE display can also provide tools for a phylogenetic analysis of the A. gambiae complex.