title: Bacterial Exposure at the Larval Stage Induced Sexual Immune Dimorphism and Priming in Adult Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes.
abstract: Gender differences in the immune response of insects are driven by natural selection for females and sexual selection for males. These natural forces entail a multitude of extrinsic and intrinsic factors involved in a genotype-environment interaction that results in sex-biased expression of the genes shared by males and females. However, little is known about how an infection at a particular ontogenetic stage may influence later stages, or how it may impact sexual immune dimorphism. Using Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a bacterial exposure at the larval stage on adult immunity in males and females. The parameters measured were phenoloxidase activity, nitric oxide production, antimicrobial activity, and the antimicrobial peptide transcript response. As a measure of the immune response success, the persistence of injected bacteria was also evaluated. The results show that males, as well as females, were able to enhance survival in the adult stage as a result of being exposed at the larval stage, which indicates a priming effect. Moreover, there was a differential gender immune response, evidenced by higher PO activity in males as well as higher NO production and greater antimicrobial activity in females. The greater bacterial persistence in females suggests a gender-specific strategy for protection after a previous experience with an elicitor. Hence, this study provides a primary characterization of the complex and gender-specific immune response of male and female adults against a bacterial challenge in mosquitoes primed at an early ontogenetic stage.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655. Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno-García
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655. Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México; Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Edificio B, 1° Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, México D.F.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655. Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Inci
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Bello
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655. Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hernández-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Av. Universidad 655. Sta. María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lanz-Mendoza
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase