title: The maxillary palp of Aedes aegypti, a model of multisensory integration.
abstract: Female yellow-fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, are obligate blood-feeders and vectors of the pathogens that cause dengue fever, yellow fever and Chikungunya. This feeding behavior concludes a series of multisensory events guiding the mosquito to its host from a distance. The antennae and maxillary palps play a major role in host detection and other sensory-mediated behaviors. Compared to the antennae, the maxillary palps are a relatively simple organ and thus an attractive model for exploration of the neuromolecular networks underlying chemo- and mechanosensation. In this study, we surveyed the expressed genetic components and examined their potential involvement with these sensory modalities. Using Illumina sequencing, we identified the transcriptome of the maxillary palps of physiologically mature female Ae. aegypti. Genes expressed in the maxillary palps included those involved in sensory reception, signal transduction and neuromodulation. In addition to previously reported chemosensory genes, we identified candidate transcripts potentially involved in mechanosensation and thermosensation. This survey lays the groundwork to explore sensory networks in an insect appendage. The identification of genes involved in thermosensation provides prospective molecular targets for the development of chemicals aimed at disrupting the behavior of this medically important insect.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bohbot
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jackson T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sparks
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA. Electronic address: joseph.dickens@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dickens
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D012677:Sensation / Q000235:genetics*; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D012903:Smell / Q000235:genetics; D013649:Taste / Q000235:genetics; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000235:genetics; D014110:Touch / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents
keywords: Aedes aegypti; Maxillary palp; Mechanosensation; Mosquito; Olfaction; Thermosensation