title: Gustatory receptor expression in the labella and tarsi of Aedes aegypti.
abstract: The yellow-fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, infects a growing number of people every year with dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses. Contact chemoreception in mosquitoes influences a number of behaviors including host-selection, oviposition and feeding. While these behaviors are in many instances well documented, the molecular mechanisms mediating them are not well understood. Here we report the results of sequencing total messenger RNA in the labella and tarsi of both male and female Ae. aegypti to reveal Gustatory Receptor (GR) gene expression profiles in these major gustatory appendages. Gene expression levels in each tissue were verified by RT-qPCR. We discuss potential functions for the GRs revealed here by considering homologous GRs in other insects. Specific GRs provide molecular targets for modification of gustatory-mediated behaviors in this important disease vector.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Plant Sciences Institute, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
authors.forename: Jackson T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sparks
authors.forename: Bryan T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Vinyard
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dickens
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D065632:Chikungunya Fever; D003715:Dengue / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000235:genetics*; D059467:Transcriptome; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C405956:gustatory receptor, Drosophila
keywords: Aedes aegypti; Gustatory receptor; Labella; Tarsi; Taste