Malaria Infection in a Shifting Disease Landscape: Genomic Signals of Susceptibility or Resistance in Apes

This pilot study will 1) conduct whole genome sequencing of chimpanzees and gorillas living in the northern Republic of Congo (West Africa), where the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project (GTAP), co-directed by Dr. Crickette Sanz (WUSTL Anthropology) and Dr. David Morgan (Lincoln Park Zoo), has been working since 1999, with the longer-term aim of identifying population genomic variation that may affect susceptibility or resistance to infection and/or malarial disease progression, and 2) develop a field-friendly Nanopore-based sequencing pipeline for monitoring parasite infection dynamics within the ape populations that could be deployed locally in the Congo to more rapidly detect changes in infection prevalence.

Principal Investigators

Emily Wroblewski, WashU (Anthropology)
Crickette Sanz, WashU (Anthropology)