Project description:We custom-built a bioinformatics pipeline to search for 20E-modifying enzymes in the accessory glands of Anopheles gambiae males, searching for ecdysteroid kinases (EcK), ecdysone oxidases (EO), and ecdysteroid-phosphate phosphatases (EPP). To this end, we generated RNAseq datasets of different An. gambiae tissues dissected from virgin and mated females and males, and produced similar datasets for Anopheles albimanus, a South American species that does not synthetize and transfer ecdysteroids during mating. These analyses led to the identification of one candidate EPP and two potential EcKs (EcK1 and EcK2), which we demonstrated are involved in the activity of a male-specific oxidized ecdysteroid (3D20E). We further determined that 3D20E is specifically produced by the An. gambiae male accessory glands and is transferred to females during copulation, where it triggers a series of post-mating responses.
Project description:Whole genome transcription was quantified in adult female and male Anopheles gambiae atdifferent ages; 0 (0-24 h), 10, 20 and 30 days post-eclosion. The objective of the experiment was to identify genes with significant age-dependent transcription.
Project description:With their genome sequenced, Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes now serve as a powerful tool for basic research in comparative, evolutionary and developmental biology. The knowledge generated by these studies is expected to reveal molecular targets for novel vector control and pathogen transmission blocking strategies. Comparisons of gene-expression profiles between adult male and nonblood-fed female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes revealed that roughly 22% of the genes showed sex-dependent regulation. Blood-fed females switch the majority of their metabolism to blood digestion and egg formation within 3 h after the meal is ingested, in detriment to other activities such as flight and response to environment stimuli. Changes in gene expression are most evident during the first, second and third days after a blood meal, when as many as 50% of all genes showed significant variation in transcript accumulation. After laying the first cluster of eggs (between 72 and 96 h after the blood meal), mosquitoes return to a nongonotrophic stage, similar but not identical to that of 3-dayold nonblood-fed females. Ageing and/or the nutritional state of mosquitoes at 15 days after a blood meal is reflected by the down-regulation of 5% of all genes. A full description of the large number of genes regulated at each analysed time point and each biochemical pathway or biological processes in which they are involved is not possible within the scope of this contribution. Therefore, we present descriptions of groups of genes displaying major differences in transcript accumulation during the adult mosquito life. However, a publicly available searchable database (Anopheles gambiae Gene Expression Database at UC Irvine) has been made available so that detailed analyses of specific groups of genes based on their descriptions, functions or levels of gene expression variation can be performed by interested investigators according to their needs. Keywords: response to bloodmeal
Project description:Proteomic analysis of Anopheles gambiae brain tissue after in-gel trypsin digestion. To gain insights into neurobiology of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, we carried out a proteomic analysis of its brain using a comprehensive proteomic approach.
Project description:Anopheline mosquitoes frequently take multiple blood meals in a single gonotrophic cycle. In this study we determined patterns of gene expression in Anopheles gambiae females blood fed twice within the first gonotrophic cycle.
Project description:Comparison of an adult female pyrethroid insecticide resistant population of Anopheles gambiae ss, from Tiefora Burkina Faso, to a lab susceptible An. gambiae ss Kisumu sampled in 2013.
Project description:We characterize the epigenome of the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae in midgut cells by mapping the distribution and levels of two post-translational histone modifications, H3K27ac and H3K27me3. These histone profiles were then correlated with levels of gene expression obtained by RNA-seq. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq were performed on adult female A. gambiae midguts. RNA-seq was performed on adult female A. gambiae salivary glands.
Project description:Overall, the study aims at obtaining a comprehensive picture of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, transcriptome using high-coverage RNA-seq of sexed whole-insect samples. This experiment focuses on transcriptomes of females subjected to physiological stress. The samples include adult females collected at different time intervals subject to sub-optimal relative humidity, after exposure to sublethal dose of deltamethrin, or following blood-feeding. Females kept at standard laboratory conditions without exposure to stressors, were collected at the same time intervals as control samples.