Project description:Malaria inflicts the highest rate of morbidity and mortality among the vector-borne diseases. The dramatic bottleneck of parasite numbers that occurs in the gut of the obligatory mosquito vector provides a promising target for novel control strategies. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we analyzed Plasmodium falciparum development in the mosquito gut, from unfertilized female gametes through the first 20 hours post blood feeding, including the zygote and ookinete stages. This study revealed the temporal gene expression of the ApiAP2 family of transcription factors, and of parasite stress genes in response to the harsh environment of the mosquito midgut. Further, employing structural protein prediction analyses we found several upregulated genes predicted to encode intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), a category of proteins known for their importance in regulation of transcription, translation and protein-protein interactions. IDPs are known for their antigenic properties and may serve as suitable targets for antibody or peptide-based transmission suppression strategies. In total, this study uncovers the P. falciparum transcriptome from early-to-late parasite development in the mosquito midgut, inside its natural vector, which provides an important resource for future malaria transmission-blocking initiatives. Single-cell data can be visualized interactively via https://mubasher-mohammed.shinyapps.io/shinyapp/ In-house bash, R code scripts and data that were implemented in this study are available on GitHub https://github.com/ANKARKLEVLAB/Single-cell-P.falciparum-midgut .
Project description:The Anopheles gambiae midgut harbors bacteria that proliferate upon a blood feed. We used microarrays to examine the midgut gene expression response at early stages (3hours) after an artifitial meal containing heat killed bacteria. Anopheles gambiae G3 mosquitoes 5-6 day-old were fed BSA (20% in PBS with fresh 10 mM sodium bicarbonate) with or without heat killed E. coli (equivalent of 2.5 ml of 0.8 OD) . Three pools of 10 mosquito midguts were dissected after 3h and processed for microarray analysis of gene expression.
Project description:Host-derived factors are sucked into midgut of mosquitoes during natural malaria transmission, but their influence on malaria transmission is largely unknown. We reported that mouse complement C3 taken into mosquitoes significantly promoted malaria transmission either in laboratory or in field. This effect was attributed to the reduction of microbiota abundance in mosquito midgut by host-derived C3 through direct lyses the predominant symbiont bacteria Elizabethkingia anopheles. Elizabethkingia anopheles symbiont bacteria were demonstrated to be detrimental to malaria sexual stages in mosquitoes. Strikingly, the promoted effect of host C3 on malaria transmission was confirmed by laboratory mosquitoes membrane-feeding on Plasmodium falciparum. Therefore, we reveal a novel strategy of malaria parasite to utilize host complement C3 to promote its transmission, and the administration of C3 inhibitor would provide us a novel strategy to control malaria transmission.
Project description:Mosquito midgut is the first tissue encounter the virus. We apply single cell RNA sequencing to investigate the gene difference in cell level between blood fed and Zika virus infected midgut.
Project description:Midgut microbiota composition of the adult non-hematophagous mosquito Toxorhynchites theobaldi (Diptera: Culicidae) from Brazil Raw sequence reads
Project description:Mosquitoes are the most notorious hematophagous insects and due to their blood feeding behavior and genetic compatibility, numerous mosquito species are highly efficient vectors for certain human pathogenic parasites and viruses. The mosquito midgut is the principal organ of blood meal digestion and nutrient absorption. It is also the initial site of infection with blood meal acquired parasites and viruses. We conducted an analysis based on single-nucleus RNA sequencing(snRNA-Seq) to assess the cellular diversity of the midgut and how individual cells respond to blood meal ingestion to facilitate its digestion.
