Ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone requires a receptor tyrosine kinase to activate egg formation in the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

ABSTRACT: Mosquitoes are major disease vectors because most species must feed on blood from a vertebrate host to produce eggs. Blood feeding by the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti triggers the release of two neurohormones, ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (OEH) and insulin-like peptides (ILPs), which activate multiple processes required for egg formation. ILPs function by binding to the insulin receptor, which activates downstream components in the canonical insulin signaling pathway. OEH in contrast belongs to a neuropeptide family called neuroparsins, whose receptor is unknown. Here we demonstrate that a previously orphanized receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) from A. aegypti encoded by the gene AAEL001915 is an OEH receptor. Phylogenetic studies indicated that the protein encoded by this gene, designate

SUBMITTER: Vogel KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413300 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature