From islands to landscapes: Integrating genomic and advanced eco-geographic tools in area-wide tsetse control

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases

Name of Author

• Norah Saarman, Utah State University
• Chantel Janet De Beer, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna
• Philippe Solano, Université de Montpellier
• Antoine Barreaux, Université de Montpellier; International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)
• Geoffrey Gimonneau, Université de Montpellier
• Sophie Ravel, Université de Montpellier
• Robert Opiro, Gulu University
• Giuseppe Amatulli, Spatial Ecology
• Giuliano Cecchi, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Serap Aksoy, Yale University
• Brian Weiss, Yale University
• Kostas Bourtzis, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna
• Adly M.M. Abd-Alla, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna

Publication Date

10-1-2026

Abstract

Tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae) are the exclusive cyclical vector of human and animal African trypanosomoses and continue to threaten health and agricultural productivity across sub-Saharan Africa. Area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) strategies provide a coordinated framework for combining tools such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), insecticide-treated targets and cattle, and others. This review examines the success and challenges of AW-IPM in tsetse control and advances in population genetics, species distribution modeling, and landscape genetics that improve identification of candidate populations for optimized AW-IPM design. We introduce the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) "Tsetse Population Genetics," supported by the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, which aims to develop standardized tools and data to guide SIT within integrated control strategies. We identify key gaps in evidence for population isolation and reinvasion risk and propose an integrated, decision-ready framework. The framework combines updated species distribution models with scalable genomic tools to generate connectivity maps and, where feasible, source-sink dynamics, to prioritize intervention sites and distinguish post-control reinvasion from true elimination.

Recommended Citation

Saarman, N., De Beer, C., Solano, P., Barreaux, A., Gimonneau, G., Ravel, S., Opiro, R., Amatulli, G., Cecchi, G., Aksoy, S., Weiss, B., Bourtzis, K., & Abd-Alla, A. (2026). From islands to landscapes: Integrating genomic and advanced eco-geographic tools in area-wide tsetse control. Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, 20 (10), e0014752. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0014752