Genetics of Mosquito Vector Competence
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TLDR
With the recent successes in the field of mosquito germ line transformation, it seems likely that the generation of a pathogen-resistant mosquito population from a susceptible population soon will become a reality.Abstract:
Mosquito-borne diseases are responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Efforts to control mosquito-borne diseases have been impeded, in part, by the development of drug-resistant parasites, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, and environmental concerns over the application of insecticides. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel disease control strategies that can complement or replace existing control methods. One such strategy is to generate pathogen-resistant mosquitoes from those that are susceptible. To this end, efforts have focused on isolating and characterizing genes that influence mosquito vector competence. It has been known for over 70 years that there is a genetic basis for the susceptibility of mosquitoes to parasites, but until the advent of powerful molecular biological tools and protocols, it was difficult to assess the interactions of pathogens with their host tissues within the mosquito at a molecular level. Moreover, it has been only recently that the molecular mechanisms responsible for pathogen destruction, such as melanotic encapsulation and immune peptide production, have been investigated. The molecular characterization of genes that influence vector competence is becoming routine, and with the development of the Sindbis virus transducing system, potential antipathogen genes now can be introduced into the mosquito and their effect on parasite development can be assessed in vivo. With the recent successes in the field of mosquito germ line transformation, it seems likely that the generation of a pathogen-resistant mosquito population from a susceptible population soon will become a reality.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Immunity-Related Genes and Gene Families in Anopheles gambiae
George K. Christophides,Evgeny M. Zdobnov,Carolina Barillas-Mury,Ewan Birney,Stéphanie Blandin,Claudia Blass,Paul T. Brey,Frank H. Collins,Alberto Danielli,George Dimopoulos,Charles Hetru,Ngo Thi Hoa,Jules A. Hoffmann,Stefan M. Kanzok,Ivica Letunic,Elena A. Levashina,Thanasis G. Loukeris,Gareth J Lycett,Stephan Meister,Kristin Michel,Luis F. Moita,Hans-Michael Müller,Mike A. Osta,Susan M. Paskewitz,Jean-Marc Reichhart,Andrey Rzhetsky,Laurent Troxler,Kenneth D. Vernick,Dina Vlachou,Jennifer Volz,Christian von Mering,Jiannong Xu,Liangbiao Zheng,Peer Bork,Fotis C. Kafatos +34 more
TL;DR: 242 Anopheles gambiae genes from 18 gene families implicated in innate immunity are identified and marked diversification relative to Drosophila melanogaster is detected, confirming that sequence diversification is accompanied by specific responses to different immune challenges.
Journal ArticleDOI
Two Chikungunya isolates from the outbreak of La Reunion (Indian Ocean) exhibit different patterns of infection in the mosquito, Aedes albopictus.
Marie Vazeille,Sara Moutailler,D. Coudrier,Claudine Rousseaux,Huot Khun,Michel Huerre,Julien Thiria,Jean-Sébastien Dehecq,Didier Fontenille,Isabelle Schuffenecker,Philippe Desprès,Anna-Bella Failloux +11 more
TL;DR: The hypothesis that the CHIK outbreak in La Réunion Island was due to a highly competent vector Ae.
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Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations
TL;DR: The proposed constructs are evolutionarily stable in the face of the mutations most likely to arise during their spread, and strategies are also available for reversing the manipulations.
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Melanogenesis and associated cytotoxic reactions: applications to insect innate immunity.
TL;DR: This review examines some of the factors that influence enzyme-mediated melanogenic responses, and how these responses likely contribute to blood cell-mediated, target-specific cytotoxicity in immune challenged insects.
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Phenoloxidase: a key component of the insect immune system
TL;DR: Recent progress in PO research is reviewed and some basic directions for future investigation of PO are put forward aimed at explaining its activating system, its substrates, its coordination with other immune components to fight off pathogens, and variation in PO in relation to gender, life stages, seasonality, and across different host species.
References
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