Pathogen prospecting of museums: Reconstructing malaria epidemiology

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nelder, Mark P.; Schats, Rachel; Poinar, Hendrik N.; Cooke, Amanda; Brickley, Megan B.
• 署名单位: Public Health Ontario; Leiden University; Leiden University - Excl LUMC; McMaster University; McMaster University; McMaster University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-11177
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310859121
• 发表日期: 2024-04-09
• 关键词: borrelia-burgdorferi dna; plasmodium-falciparum; CLIMATE-CHANGE; resistance; specimens; burden; polymorphisms; transmission; collections; population

摘要

Malaria is a disease of global significance. Ongoing changes to the earth's climate, antimalarial resistance, insecticide resistance, and socioeconomic decline test the resilience of malaria prevention programs. Museum insect specimens present an untapped resource for studying vector-borne pathogens, spurring the question: Do historical mosquito collections contain Plasmodium DNA, and, if so, can museum specimens be used to reconstruct the historical epidemiology of malaria? In this Perspective, we explore molecular techniques practical to pathogen prospecting, which, more broadly, we define as the science of screening entomological museum specimens for human, animal, or plant pathogens. Historical DNA and pathogen prospecting provide a means of describing the coevolution of human, vector, and parasite, informing the development of insecticides, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.