The Interaction between a Sexually Transferred Steroid Hormone and a Female Protein Regulates Oogenesis in the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae

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Abstract

Molecular interactions between male and female factors during mating profoundly affect the reproductive behavior and physiology of female insects. In natural populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, blood-fed females direct nutritional resources towards oogenesis only when inseminated. Here we show that the mating-dependent pathway of egg development in these mosquitoes is regulated by the interaction between the steroid hormone 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E) transferred by males during copulation and a female Mating-Induced Stimulator of Oogenesis (MISO) protein. RNAi silencing of MISO abolishes the increase in oogenesis caused by mating in blood-fed females, causes a delay in oocyte development, and impairs the function of male-transferred 20E. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments show that MISO and 20E interact in the female reproductive tract. Moreover MISO expression after mating is induced by 20E via the Ecdysone Receptor, demonstrating a close cooperation between the two factors. Male-transferred 20E therefore acts as a mating signal that females translate into an increased investment in egg development via a MISO-dependent pathway. The identification of this male-female reproductive interaction offers novel opportunities for the control of mosquito populations that transmit malaria. © 2013 Baldini et al.

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Baldini, F., Gabrieli, P., South, A., Valim, C., Mancini, F., & Catteruccia, F. (2013). The Interaction between a Sexually Transferred Steroid Hormone and a Female Protein Regulates Oogenesis in the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae. PLoS Biology, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001695

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