title: Identification and characterization of seminal fluid proteins in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.
abstract: The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is an important vector for pathogens that affect human health, including the viruses that cause dengue and Chikungunya fevers. It is also one of the world's fastest-spreading invasive species. For these reasons, it is crucial to identify strategies for controlling the reproduction and spread of this mosquito. During mating, seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) are transferred from male mosquitoes to females, and these Sfps modulate female behavior and physiology in ways that influence reproduction. Despite the importance of Sfps on female reproductive behavior in mosquitoes and other insects, the identity of Sfps in Ae. albopictus has not previously been reported. We used transcriptomics and proteomics to identify 198 Sfps in Ae. albopictus. We discuss possible functions of these Sfps in relation to Ae. albopictus reproduction-related biology. We additionally compare the sequences of these Sfps with proteins (including reported Sfps) in several other species, including Ae. aegypti. While only 72 (36.4%) of Ae. albopictus Sfps have putative orthologs in Ae. aegypti, suggesting low conservation of the complement of Sfps in these species, we find no evidence for an elevated rate of evolution or positive selection in the Sfps that are shared between the two Aedes species, suggesting high sequence conservation of those shared Sfps. Our results provide a foundation for future studies to investigate the roles of individual Sfps on feeding and reproduction in this mosquito. Functional analysis of these Sfps could inform strategies for managing the rate of pathogen transmission by Ae. albopictus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Boes
authors.affiliation: Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: José M C
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mariana F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Wolfner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, United States of America.
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sirot
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D030562:Databases, Protein; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D040901:Proteomics; D029589:Seminal Plasma Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D029589:Seminal Plasma Proteins