title: Molecular characterization of the Aedes aegypti odorant receptor gene family.
abstract: The olfactory-driven blood-feeding behaviour of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes is the primary transmission mechanism by which the arboviruses causing dengue and yellow fevers affect over 40 million individuals worldwide. Bioinformatics analysis has been used to identify 131 putative odourant receptors from the A. aegypti genome that are likely to function in chemosensory perception in this mosquito. Comparison with the Anopheles gambiae olfactory subgenome demonstrates significant divergence of the odourant receptors that reflects a high degree of evolutionary activity potentially resulting from their critical roles during the mosquito life cycle. Expression analyses in the larval and adult olfactory chemosensory organs reveal that the ratio of odourant receptors to antennal glomeruli is not necessarily one to one in mosquitoes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Programs in Developmental Biology and Genetics, Centers for Chemical Biology and Molecular Neuroscience, The Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bohbot
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Pitts
authors.forename: H-W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rützler
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zwiebel
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D049750:Genome, Insect; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008297:Male; D005810:Multigene Family; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018035:Receptors, Odorant