Cloning and sequence analysis of mosquito defensin genes.
OBJECTIVE
To clone the defensin genes from the Chinese main mosquito vectors and conduct sequnce analysis.


METHODS
The genomic DNA and total RNA were extracted from Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Culex fatigans and Anopheles sinensis respectively, followed by PCR and reverse transcriptase-PCR with 2 pairs of primers designed and synthesized on the basis of reported defensin gene sequence. Purification and sequence analysis of the PCR products derived from the above procedure were conducted.


RESULTS
The products with predicted size were amplified from the genomic DNA of A.aegypti, A.albopictus and A.sinensis. Sequence analysis showed that the amplified fragments from A.aegypti and A.albopictus, but not that from A.sinensis, were highly homologous with the reported defensin sequence.


CONCLUSIONS
The defensin gene of A.aegypti and A.albopictus have been successfully cloned, and the homology of defensin genes among different mosquitoes is parallel to their genetic distances.
Zhi
Guo-Zhou
GZ
Department of Parasitology, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Chen
Xiao-Guang
XG
Zhou
Xiao-Hong
XH
Peng
Hong-Juan
HJ
Lin
Li-Feng
LF
Yi
Jian-Rong
JR
Jiang
Jing-Xian
JX
Zhang
Shu-Ping
SP
D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003465:Culex / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D023082:Defensins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D023082:Defensins