Aedes aegypti midgut early trypsin is post-transcriptionally regulated by blood feeding.
Early trypsin is a female-specific protease present in the Aedes aegypti midgut during the first hours after ingestion of a blood meal. Early trypsin gene expression was studied by Northern blot analysis. The early trypsin mRNA, absent in larvae, pupae and newly emerged females, reaches detectable levels at 24 h post-emergence and attains a maximum level at an adult age of 4-7 days. After the first week there is a decrease in the steady-state level of the transcript, but it remains readily detectable for up to a month after emergence. Despite the high levels of early trypsin mRNA present in the midgut of the unfed female, translation of the early trypsin mRNA occurs only after a blood or a protein meal. Early trypsin mRNA levels rapidly decrease during the first 24 h after feeding, but the steady-state level of the transcript rises again at the end of the blood digestion cycle (60 h), as the mosquito prepares for a second blood meal.
Noriega
F G
FG
Department of Biochemistry and Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721, USA.
Pennington
J E
JE
Barillas-Mury
C
C
Wang
X Y
XY
Wells
M A
MA
D000330:Aedes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D004064:Digestive System / Q000201:enzymology; D004435:Eating; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D013552:Swine; D014357:Trypsin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D004792:Enzyme Precursors; D014357:Trypsin