The reproductive fitness of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito represents a promising target to prevent malaria transmission. The ecdysteroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), transferred from male to female during copulation, is key to An. gambiae reproductive success as it licenses females to oviposit eggs developed after blood feeding. Here we show that 20E-triggered oviposition in these mosquitoes is regulated by the stress- and immune-responsive c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). The heads of mated females exhibit a transcriptional signature reminiscent of a JNK-dependent wounding response, while mating—or injection of virgins with exogenous 20E—selectively activates JNK in the same tissue. RNAi-mediated depletion of JNK pathway components inhibits oviposition in mated females, whereas JNK activation by silencing the JNK phosphatase puckered induces egg laying in virgins. Together, these data identify JNK as a potential conduit linking stress responses and reproductive success in the most important vector of malaria.
JNK signaling regulates oviposition in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae / M.J. Peirce, S.N. Mitchell, E.G. Kakani, P. Scarpelli, A. South, W.R. Shaw, K.L. Werling, P. Gabrieli, P. Marcenac, M. Bordoni, V. Talesa, F. Catteruccia. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - 10:1(2020 Sep). [10.1038/s41598-020-71291-5]
JNK signaling regulates oviposition in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
P. Gabrieli;
2020
Abstract
The reproductive fitness of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito represents a promising target to prevent malaria transmission. The ecdysteroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), transferred from male to female during copulation, is key to An. gambiae reproductive success as it licenses females to oviposit eggs developed after blood feeding. Here we show that 20E-triggered oviposition in these mosquitoes is regulated by the stress- and immune-responsive c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). The heads of mated females exhibit a transcriptional signature reminiscent of a JNK-dependent wounding response, while mating—or injection of virgins with exogenous 20E—selectively activates JNK in the same tissue. RNAi-mediated depletion of JNK pathway components inhibits oviposition in mated females, whereas JNK activation by silencing the JNK phosphatase puckered induces egg laying in virgins. Together, these data identify JNK as a potential conduit linking stress responses and reproductive success in the most important vector of malaria.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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