Mating-regulated atrial proteases control reinsemination rates in Anopheles gambiae females.

ABSTRACT: Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are the most important vectors of human malaria. The reproductive success of these mosquitoes relies on a single copulation event after which the majority of females become permanently refractory to further mating. This refractory behavior is at least partially mediated by the male-synthetized steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), which is packaged together with other seminal secretions into a gelatinous mating plug and transferred to the female atrium during mating. In this study, we show that two 20E-regulated chymotrypsin-like serine proteases specifically expressed in the reproductive tract of An. gambiae females play an important role in modulating the female susceptibility to mating. Silencing these proteases by RNA interference impairs correct plug p

SUBMITTER: Bascunan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7738481 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature