title: Identification and mapping of the promoter for the gene encoding the ferritin heavy-chain homologue of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti.
abstract: Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of numerous human diseases. The recent development of transgenic mosquitoes provides a new tool to examine molecular interactions between insect vectors and the pathogens they transmit. One focus in generating transgenic mosquito lies on expressing anti-pathogenic proteins at primary sites of pathogenic invasions, specifically the mosquito gut. Promoters that direct the expression of anti-pathogenic proteins in the mosquito gut are thus sought after because they may provide ways to hinder pathogenic development in the mosquito. Here, we report the identification and mapping of a strong promoter from the Aedes aegypti ferritin heavy-chain homologue (HCH) gene. All known insect ferritin HCH genes are expressed in the gut and inducible by an iron overload. Our transfection assays and DNase I footprinting analyses show that the mosquito ferritin HCH-gene contains regulatory elements both upstream and downstream of the transcriptional start site. The promoter of this gene contains a CF2 site, two GATA-binding sites, an E2F site, a TATA-box, an AP-1 site and a C/EBP binding site.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000, USA. daphne.pham@uwp.edu
authors.forename: D Q-D
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chavez
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Douglass
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D004247:DNA; D018983:DNA Footprinting; D005293:Ferritins / Q000235:genetics*; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D005293:Ferritins