Identification of differentially expressed genes in female Culex pipiens pallens.
Culex pipiens pallens is the mosquito vector of a number of human pathogens such as Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and epidemic encephalitis B virus. Female C. pipiens pallens play an important role in transmitting pathogens by sucking blood, which is essential for reproduction. In the present study, a subtractive cDNA library for female C. pipiens pallens was constructed by the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique and then 100 clones from the female SSH library were sequenced and analyzed. Female-differentially expressed genes in C. pipiens pallens were screened using semiquantitative RT-PCR. The full-length cDNA of an EST sequence (fs68) that was specifically expressed in female C. pipiens pallens was characterized by 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The characteristics of the female-specific gene were further analyzed using bioinformatics and Northern blot. It was shown that the female-specific gene was a previously uncharacterized gene and may encode a salivary peptide. This putative salivary peptide could be a very important molecule in the blood feeding of female C. pipiens pallens.
Chen
Hong-Hong
HH
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Tian Bai No. 1 Street, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, 518020, People's Republic of China.
Zhang
Ren-Li
RL
Geng
Yi-Jie
YJ
Cheng
Jin-Quan
JQ
Zhang
Shun-Xiang
SX
Huang
Da-Na
DN
Yu
Lei
L
Gao
Shi-Tong
ST
Zhu
Xing-Quan
XQ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D019295:Computational Biology; D003465:Culex / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D019476:Insect Proteins; D010455:Peptides