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.
Project description:The Southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, is an anautogenous mosquito species that requires a blood meal in order to provision the eggs. Following the eclosion of the adults from the pupal stage, adult female mosquitoes require a period of time for mating and development before they are competent to take a blood meal. In order to better understand the genes involved in preparing the females to take a blood meal, populations of non-blooded adult female Cx. quinquefasciatus were collected from even-aged populations and used for RNA Seq analysis. A total of seven post-eclosion time points were selected (2, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hours), which spanned the pre-blood feeding time period and the time period during which the females were competent for the acquisition of the blood meal. Overall, the majority of differentially-expressed genes were identified between the 2 and 12h time points with most genes reaching stable expression after 36h. This study identified the global changes in gene expression profiles over time as the females become competent to acquire the blood meal.
Project description:We report here RNAseq analysis of the comparison of gene expression between sugar fed and blood fed Aedes aegypti ovaries, to understand blood meal induced changes in gene expression.
Project description:Female mosquitoes require a blood meal for oogenesis, and thereby receive a substantial iron load in the forms of holo-transferrin and hemoglobin. Our previous data showed that during digestion of a blood meal, the gut iron concentration decreases 10-fold, while that of the ovaries doubles from ingestion to 72 hours post feeding. Approximately 72 hours post feeding, eggs are laid with ~125 ng Fe each. We are interested in the effects of the blood meal on the expression of iron related proteins detected in the ovaries during time post feeding before eggs are laid. We have used shotgun proteomic analysis to identify proteins in the developing ovaries of Aedes aegypti; this information provides further insight into the effect of a blood meal on mosquito oogenesis.
Project description:Fat body is an important tissue in the context of vitellogenesis, vector immunity, vector physiology and vector-parasite interaction. However, the proteome of fatbody and impact of blood meal on the gene expression of this vital organ has not been investigated so far. Therefore, in this study, we made an attempt to identify proteins expressed in fatbody of An. stephensi and their altered expression in response to blood meal. In all, we identified 4,504 proteins in the fatbody using multiple fractionation strategies, which is by far the largest resource of fatbody proteome in any mosquito species. Further, comparative proteomic analysis of fatbody 24 and 48 hours post blood meal led to identification of over 300 differentially expressed proteins. Bioinformatics analysis of these proteins suggested their role in vitellogenesis, lipid transport, mosquito immunity and oxidation-reduction processes. Interestingly, we identified four novel genes,which were found to be differentially expressed upon blood meal. These proteins are potential target for vector control strategies and development of transmission blocking vaccines.
Project description:Oral susceptibility of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to dengue viruses varies between different Aedes species and strains. However, the midgut-specific transcriptional profile that may produce this variation is presently obscure and was the subject of our investigation. The variation in active expression between dengue-2 susceptible (SUS) and refractory (REF) mosquitoes was investigated during the first critical 96 hours after infection Transcriptional profiles were mined from respective guts using the serial analysis of gene expression technique (SAGE) and libraries constructed from midguts obtained from mosquitoes that received a dengue-2 infected blood meal (DENV-2), a non infected blood meal (naive) or a 5% sucrose meal (SM). Here we report that variation between DENV-2 infected libraries versus respective naïve libraries revealed very few transcripts that were common and statistically significant in DENV-2 infected libraries. In addition, the expression profiles among libraries displayed up regulation of antisense transcripts especially in the SUS strain. A strong proclivity towards strain-specificity in differential expression was observed, which suggested an exclusive transcription that is likely up-regulated after DENV-2 infection Thirty Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes aged 4-5 days were transferred to 500 ml paper cups and offered a 5% sucrose meal (SM), a naïve blood meal or a dengue-2 (JAM 1409 strain) infectious blood meal, using standard artificial membrane feeders. Fully engorged females were isolated and maintained on a 5% sucrose solution ad libitum at 26oC and relative humidity till dissection
Project description:Modern humans spend most of their time having eaten recently. The purpose of the current project is to understand how the blood, which contains immune cells, responds in the hours after eating a meal that is moderately high in fat. We used a sequencing method to observe the expression of all the genes in blood cells in five participants who were each fed a high fat meal on three separate days. The results are reported in the manuscript, “Temporal changes in postprandial blood transcriptomes reveal subject-specific pattern of expression of innate immunity genes after a high-fat meal."
Project description:Small-scale microarray profiling of all the genes encoding P450 enzymes of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae in active steroidogenic organs of adults. Ovaries from non blood-fed females were compared to ovaries of blood-fed females at different times after the blood meal: 16 and 22h post-blood-meal, and to male reproductive tracts from males.
Project description:Malaria infection renders humans more attractive to Anopheles gambiae sensu lato mosquitoes than uninfected people. The mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we show that an isoprenoid precursor produced by Plasmodium falciparum, (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP), affects A. gambiae s.l. blood meal seeking and feeding behaviors, as well as susceptibility to infection. HMBPP acts indirectly by triggering human red blood cells to increase the release of CO2, aldehydes, and monoterpenes, which together enhance vector attraction, and stimulate vector feeding. When offered in a blood meal, HMBPP modulates neural, antimalarial, and oogenic gene transcription without affecting mosquito survival or fecundity, while in a P. falciparum infected blood meal, sporogony is increased.