Reactive oxygen species detoxification by catalase is a major determinant of fecundity in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

ABSTRACT: The mosquito Anopheles gambiae is a primary vector of Plasmodium parasites in Africa. The effect of aging on reproductive output in A. gambiae females from three strains that differ in their ability to melanize Plasmodium and in their systemic levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a reactive oxygen species (ROS), was analyzed. The number of eggs oviposited after the first blood meal decreases with age in all strains; however, this decline was much more pronounced in the G3 (unselected) and R (refractory to Plasmodium infection) strains than in the S (highly susceptible to Plasmodium) strain. Reduction of ROS levels in G3 and R females by administration of antioxidants reversed this age-related decline in fecundity. The S and G3 strains were fixed for two functionally different catalase allel

SUBMITTER: DeJong RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1892935 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature