Mating activates the heme peroxidase HPX15 in the sperm storage organ to ensure fertility in Anopheles gambiae.

ABSTRACT: Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are major African vectors of malaria, a disease that kills more than 600,000 people every year. Given the spread of insecticide resistance in natural mosquito populations, alternative vector control strategies aimed at reducing the reproductive success of mosquitoes are being promoted. Unlike many other insects, An. gambiae females mate a single time in their lives and must use sperm stored in the sperm storage organ, the spermatheca, to fertilize a lifetime's supply of eggs. Maintenance of sperm viability during storage is therefore crucial to the reproductive capacity of these mosquitoes. However, to date, no information is available on the factors and mechanisms ensuring sperm functionality in the spermatheca. Here we identify cellular components and molecul

SUBMITTER: Shaw WR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4000814 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature