Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae
Abstract Background Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, are controlled primarily by suppressing mosquito vector populations using insecticides. The current control programmes are seriously threatened by the emergence and rapid spread of resistance to approved insecticides. Genetic approaches p...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2018-12-01
|
| Series: | Parasites & Vectors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3211-z |
| _version_ | 1819228640685064192 |
|---|---|
| author | Elzbieta Krzywinska Jaroslaw Krzywinski |
| author_facet | Elzbieta Krzywinska Jaroslaw Krzywinski |
| author_sort | Elzbieta Krzywinska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, are controlled primarily by suppressing mosquito vector populations using insecticides. The current control programmes are seriously threatened by the emergence and rapid spread of resistance to approved insecticides. Genetic approaches proposed to complement the existing control efforts may be a more sustainable solution to mosquito control. All such approaches would rely on releases of modified male mosquitoes, because released females would contribute to biting and pathogen transmission. However, no sufficiently large-scale methods for sex separation in mosquitoes exist. Results Here we exploited the female embryo-killing property of the sex determining gene Yob from the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, to evaluate the feasibility of creating transgenic An. gambiae sexing strains with a male-only phenotype. We generated An. gambiae lines with Yob expression, in both sexes, controlled by the vas2 promoter. Penetrance of the female-lethal phenotype was highly dependent on the location of the transgenic construct within the genome. A strong male bias was observed in one of the lines. All the females that survived to adulthood in that line possessed masculinized head appendages and terminal abdominal segments. They did not feed on blood, lacked host-seeking behavior, and thus were effectively sterile. Males, however, were not affected by Yob overexpression. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that ectopic expression of Yob results in a recovery of viable, fertile males, and in death, or otherwise strongly deleterious effects, in females. This result shows potential for generation of transgenic sexing strains of Anopheles gambiae with a conditional male-only phenotype. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:00:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35cedf13b18944568be004da6a7a7141 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1756-3305 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T11:00:30Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Parasites & Vectors |
| spelling | doaj.art-35cedf13b18944568be004da6a7a71412022-12-21T17:49:38ZengBMCParasites & Vectors1756-33052018-12-0111S2495610.1186/s13071-018-3211-zEffects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiaeElzbieta Krzywinska0Jaroslaw Krzywinski1Vector Molecular Biology Group, The Pirbright InstituteVector Molecular Biology Group, The Pirbright InstituteAbstract Background Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, are controlled primarily by suppressing mosquito vector populations using insecticides. The current control programmes are seriously threatened by the emergence and rapid spread of resistance to approved insecticides. Genetic approaches proposed to complement the existing control efforts may be a more sustainable solution to mosquito control. All such approaches would rely on releases of modified male mosquitoes, because released females would contribute to biting and pathogen transmission. However, no sufficiently large-scale methods for sex separation in mosquitoes exist. Results Here we exploited the female embryo-killing property of the sex determining gene Yob from the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, to evaluate the feasibility of creating transgenic An. gambiae sexing strains with a male-only phenotype. We generated An. gambiae lines with Yob expression, in both sexes, controlled by the vas2 promoter. Penetrance of the female-lethal phenotype was highly dependent on the location of the transgenic construct within the genome. A strong male bias was observed in one of the lines. All the females that survived to adulthood in that line possessed masculinized head appendages and terminal abdominal segments. They did not feed on blood, lacked host-seeking behavior, and thus were effectively sterile. Males, however, were not affected by Yob overexpression. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that ectopic expression of Yob results in a recovery of viable, fertile males, and in death, or otherwise strongly deleterious effects, in females. This result shows potential for generation of transgenic sexing strains of Anopheles gambiae with a conditional male-only phenotype.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3211-zmalaria vectorgenetic sexingtransgenic mosquitoesdevelopment |
| spellingShingle | Elzbieta Krzywinska Jaroslaw Krzywinski Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae Parasites & Vectors malaria vector genetic sexing transgenic mosquitoes development |
| title | Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |
| title_full | Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |
| title_fullStr | Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |
| title_short | Effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene Yob in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae |
| title_sort | effects of stable ectopic expression of the primary sex determination gene yob in the mosquito anopheles gambiae |
| topic | malaria vector genetic sexing transgenic mosquitoes development |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-018-3211-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elzbietakrzywinska effectsofstableectopicexpressionoftheprimarysexdeterminationgeneyobinthemosquitoanophelesgambiae AT jaroslawkrzywinski effectsofstableectopicexpressionoftheprimarysexdeterminationgeneyobinthemosquitoanophelesgambiae |