title: Variant Ionotropic Receptors in the Malaria Vector Mosquito Anopheles gambiae Tuned to Amines and Carboxylic Acids.
abstract: The principal Afrotropical human malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, remains a significant threat to global health. A critical component in the transmission of malaria is the ability of An. gambiae females to detect and respond to human-derived chemical kairomones in their search for blood meal hosts. The basis for host odor responses resides in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) that express chemoreceptors encoded by large gene families, including the odorant receptors (ORs) and the variant ionotropic receptors (IRs). While ORs have been the focus of extensive investigation, functional IR complexes and the chemical compounds that activate them have not been identified in An. gambiae. Here we report the transcriptional profiles and functional characterization of three An. gambiae IR (AgIr) complexes that specifically respond to amines or carboxylic acids - two classes of semiochemicals that have been implicated in mediating host-seeking by adult females but are not known to activate An. gambiae ORs (AgOrs). Our results suggest that AgIrs play critical roles in the detection and behavioral responses to important classes of host odors that are underrepresented in the AgOr chemical space.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: R Jason
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Pitts
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Derryberry
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|College of Forestry, Shanxi Agricultural University, Shanxi, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.|Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Program in Developmental Biology and Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Laurence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zwiebel
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000378:metabolism*; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology*; D000072138:Mosquito Vectors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D058468:Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D058468:Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate