Biology subjects

Kengne, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Kengne, P..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Delayed identification of long-overlooked Aedes (Aedimorphus) vexans in Tahiti Island, French Polynesia

Aedes (Aedimorphus) vexans (Meigen, 1830) is a globally distributed mosquito species commonly associated with temporary flooded habitats, including those in the South Pacific region. While its presence has been documented in several Pacific archipelagos, its occurrence on Tahiti island had remained unconfirmed. A retrospective examination of historical mosquito collections held at the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD, France) and the Institut Louis Malarde (ILM, Tahiti) revealed evidence of Ae. vexans on Tahiti dating back as early as 1993. This historical detection was corroborated by targeted field surveys conducted between 2023 and 2025, which confirmed the species presence at multiple sites, particularly in the southern part of the island. To support these observations, COI gene sequences from newly collected specimens were analyzed alongside reference Ae. vexans sequences from GenBank. The Tahitian specimens fall unambiguously within the Pacific clade of Ae. vexans and show no genetic divergence that would support their assignment to Ae. nocturnus or Ae. nipponii. Similarly, sequences published under these names in GenBank do not form distinct lineages within Ae. vexans. This study provides the first confirmed record of Ae. vexans on Tahiti, based on both morphological identification and molecular evidence. The findings underscore the need to integrate molecular tools into entomological monitoring to improve species detection and prevent misidentifications in island environments where vector diversity is often underestimated.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2022

Invasion of forested areas in Gabon (Central Africa) by the Asian tiger mosquito and the potential consequences from the One Health perspective

Since its first record in urban areas of Central-Africa in 2000s, the invasive mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has continued to spread across the region, including in remote rural areas, and promoted outbreaks of Aedes-borne diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. From the One-Health perspective, such invasion might enhance Ae. albopictus interactions with wild animals in forest ecosystems and favor the spillover of zoonotic arboviruses to humans. From 2014 to 2018, we monitored the steady spread of this mosquito species in the wildlife reserve of La Lope National Park (Gabon), and evaluated the magnitude of its colonization of the rainforest ecosystem using ovitraps, larval surveys, BG-Sentinel traps, and human landing catches following an anthropization gradient. We detected Ae. albopictus in forest galleries up to 15km away from La Lope village. However, Ae. albopictus was significantly more abundant at anthropogenic sites than in less anthropized areas. The number of eggs laid by Ae. albopictus decreased progressively with the distance from the forest fringe up to 200m inside the forest, showing that its occurrence in forest ecosystems is restricted to anthropized-sylvatic interfaces with dense forest. This suggests that Ae. albopictus may act as bridge vector of zoonotic pathogens between wild and anthropogenic compartments.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

A new species in the Anopheles gambiae complex reveals new evolutionary relationships between vector and non-vector species

Complexes of closely related species provide key insights about the rapid and independent evolution of adaptive traits. Here, we described and studied a presumably new species in the Anopheles gambiae complex, Anopheles fontenillei, recently discovered in the forested areas of Gabon, Central Africa. Our analysis placed the new taxon in the phylogenetic tree of the An. gambiae complex, revealing important introgression events with other members of the complex. In particular, we detected recent introgression with An. gambiae and An. coluzzii of genes directly involved in vectorial capacity. Moreover, genome analysis of the new species also allowed us to resolve the evolutionary history of inversion 3La. Overall, Anopheles fontenillei has implemented our understanding about the relationship of species within the gambiaecomplex and provides insight into the evolution of vectorial capacity traits, relevant for the successful control of malaria in Africa.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Natural Wolbachia infections are common in the major malaria vectors in Central Africa

During the last decade, the endosymbiont bacterium Wolbachia has emerged as a biological tool for vector disease control. However, for long time, it was believed that Wolbachia was absent in natural populations of Anopheles. The recent discovery that species within the Anopheles gambiae complex hosts Wolbachia in natural conditions has opened new opportunities for malaria control research in Africa. Here, we investigated the prevalence and diversity of Wolbachia infection in 25 African Anopheles species in Gabon (Central Africa). Our results revealed the presence of Wolbachia in 16 of these species, including the major malaria vectors in this area. The infection prevalence varied greatly among species, confirming that sample size is a key factor to detect the infection. Moreover, our sequencing and phylogenetic analyses showed the important diversity of Wolbachia strains that infect Anopheles. Co-evolutionary analysis unveiled patterns of Wolbachia transmission within Anopheles species, suggesting that past independent acquisition events were followed by co-cladogenesis. The large diversity of Wolbachia strains that infect natural populations of Anopheles offers a promising opportunity to select suitable phenotypes for suppressing Plasmodium transmission and/or manipulating Anopheles reproduction, which in turn could be used to reduce the malaria burden in Africa.

ecology↗