title: Light deprivation affects larval development and arrestin gene expression in Anopheles stephensi.
abstract: The role of light exposure on the final stages of development of Anopheles stephensi larvae to pupae and adult mosquitoes was explored. We demonstrated a significant reduction in the development of adult mosquitoes when larvae were bred in the absence of light compared with the control group bred in alternating 12 h of light and 12 h of dark. To correlate these findings at the molecular level, RNA levels of the visual arrestin gene were examined. Arrestins are an important gene family that play a role in the vectorial capacity of Anopheles and mediate neurotransmission as well as olfactory and visual sensory reception in insects. Semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction showed a reduction in the expression of the visual arrestin gene in pupae that developed from larvae in the absence of light compared with larvae bred under normal conditions.
authors.affiliation: Protein Potential LLC, 9640 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: G Mani
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Subramanian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019393:Arrestin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers; D003624:Darkness; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D017440:Photoperiod; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D019393:Arrestin; D017931:DNA Primers