title: The interaction between a sexually transferred steroid hormone and a female protein regulates oogenesis in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: Molecular interactions between male and female factors during mating profoundly affect the reproductive behavior and physiology of female insects. In natural populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, blood-fed females direct nutritional resources towards oogenesis only when inseminated. Here we show that the mating-dependent pathway of egg development in these mosquitoes is regulated by the interaction between the steroid hormone 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E) transferred by males during copulation and a female Mating-Induced Stimulator of Oogenesis (MISO) protein. RNAi silencing of MISO abolishes the increase in oogenesis caused by mating in blood-fed females, causes a delay in oocyte development, and impairs the function of male-transferred 20E. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments show that MISO and 20E interact in the female reproductive tract. Moreover MISO expression after mating is induced by 20E via the Ecdysone Receptor, demonstrating a close cooperation between the two factors. Male-transferred 20E therefore acts as a mating signal that females translate into an increased investment in egg development via a MISO-dependent pathway. The identification of this male-female reproductive interaction offers novel opportunities for the control of mosquito populations that transmit malaria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Terni, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baldini
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: South
authors.forename: Clarissa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valim
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catteruccia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004440:Ecdysone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D020868:Gene Silencing / Q000187:drug effects; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000235:genetics; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D010063:Ovum / Q000378:metabolism; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D013256:Steroids / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C558549:20-hydroxylecdysone; D006728:Hormones; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; D013256:Steroids; C032830:lipophorin; D004440:Ecdysone