Flight muscle-specific expression of act88F: GFP in transgenic Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae).
A strategy to engineer a strain of Culex mosquitoes refractory to filarial transmission is described. A requirement for success of the strategy is identification of a flight muscle-specific promoter that functions in the mosquito. A GFP marker gene under the control of the promoter region of the Drosophila melanogaster act88F gene was inserted into the genome of Culex quinquefasciatus. Transformation was confirmed by Mendelian genetics. Hybridization of a genomic Southern blot to a radiolabeled probe verified that the entire donor plasmid integrated into the mosquito genome. GFP expression in the transgenic mosquitoes was restricted to the flight muscles.
Allen
Margaret L
ML
Entomology Department, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. mallen2@unl.edu
Christensen
Bruce M
BM
D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D003465:Culex / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D000199:Actins; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins