title: Aquaglyceroporin function in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anopheles gambiae is the major mosquito vector for Plasmodium falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where it survives in stressful climates. Aquaporin water channels are expressed in all life forms, where they provide environmental adaptation by conferring rapid trans-cellular movement of water (classical aquaporins) or water plus glycerol (aquaglyceroporins). Here, we report an aquaglyceroporin homolog in A. gambiae, AgAQP3 (A. gambiae aquaglyceroporin 3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite atypical pore-lining amino acids, AgAQP3 is permeated by water, glycerol and urea, and is not significantly inhibited by 1 mM HgCl2. AgAQP3 is expressed more heavily in male mosquitoes, yet adult female A. gambiae abundantly express AgAQP3 in Malpighian tubules and gut where large amounts of fluid exchange occur during blood meal digestion, water and nutrient absorption and waste secretion. Reducing expression of AgAQP3 by RNA interference reduces median mosquito survival at 39°C. After an infectious blood meal, mosquitoes with depleted AgAQP3 expression exhibit fewer P. falciparum oocysts in the midgut compared to control mosquitoes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our studies reveal critical contributions of AgAQP3 to A. gambiae heat tolerance and P. falciparum development in vivo.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that AgAQP3 may be a major factor explaining why A. gambiae is an important malaria vector mosquito in sub-Saharan Africa, and may be a potential target for novel malaria control strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsujimoto
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214064, China.|Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210028, China.
authors.forename: Yuzheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. JLR54@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Jason L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rasgon
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agre
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051400:Aquaporin 3 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000635:transmission*; D008297:Male; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000469:parasitology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051400:Aquaporin 3
keywords: Anopheles gambiae; Aquaglyceroporin; Gene silencing; Malaria control; Stress adaptation