Manipulation of pantothenate kinase in Anopheles stephensi suppresses pantothenate levels with minimal impacts on mosquito fitness.

ABSTRACT: Pantothenate (Pan) is an essential nutrient required by both the mosquito vector and malaria parasite. We previously demonstrated that increasing pantothenate kinase (PanK) activity and co-enzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis led to significantly decreased parasite infection prevalence and intensity in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi. In this study, we demonstrate that Pan stores in A. stephensi are a limited resource and that manipulation of PanK levels or activity, via small molecule modulators of PanK or transgenic mosquitoes, leads to the conversion of Pan to CoA and an overall reduction in Pan levels with minimal to no effects on mosquito fitness. Transgenic A. stephensi lines with repressed insulin signaling due to PTEN overexpression or repressed c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signal

SUBMITTER: Thakre N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9595603 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature