Expression of fatty acid synthase genes and their role in development and arboviral infection of Aedes aegypti

Chotiwan, Nunya; Brito-Sierra, Carlos A; Ramirez, Gabriella; Lian, Elena; Grabowski, Jeffrey M.; Graham, Babara; Hill, Catherine A.; Perera, Rushika

doi:10.1186/s13071-022-05336-1

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The study investigated the dynamic expression of FAS genes in relation to developmental stages. Larval and pupal stages showed negligible FAS expression in comparison to adult stages (Chotiwan et al, 2022). This is consistent with the fact that larvae and pupae utilize maternal lipids deposited in the eggs and do not need to synthesize fatty acids in early life stages.…”

Section: Fatty Acid Synthesissupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Males have more active fatty acid synthase gene expression. This is reflective of dependence on de novo fatty acid synthesis to fulfill lipid requirements that are not fulfilled by the high sugar diet (Jenkin et al, 1975;Sushchik et al, 2013;Chotiwan et al, 2022) (F) Utilization of amino acids in the blood meal by female mosquitoes. A major proportion of the blood meal amino acids are oxidized to CO 2 or excreted as uric acid while the remaining portion is converted to triglycerides (TAGs) and stored in the mosquito fat body (Lehane, 1991;Zhou et al, 2004a;Horvath et al, 2021).…”

Section: Metabolism Is At the Forefront Of Mosquito Development And B...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult mosquitoes are able to synthesize lipids from carbohydrate (sugar) meals (Ziegler and Ibrahim, 2001). Both males and females possess de novo fatty acid biosynthesis machinery, such as fatty acid synthase (FAS) and D-9 fatty acid desaturase enzymes, but males have higher FAS gene expression than females to fulfil lipid requirements (Figure 1E) (Jenkin et al, 1975;Sushchik et al, 2013;Chotiwan et al, 2022). By feeding on sugar meals alone, the females are capable of increasing their lipid content up to 300µg within 5 days (Ziegler and Ibrahim, 2001).…”

Section: Adult Mosquitoesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Ae. aegypti several paralogues of FAS were found (Chotiwan et al, 2022). The study investigated the dynamic expression of FAS genes in relation to developmental stages.…”

Section: Fatty Acid Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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The buzz in the field: the interaction between viruses, mosquitoes, and metabolism

Ratnayake

Chotiwan

Saavedra-Rodríguez

et al. 2023

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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Among many medically important pathogens, arboviruses like dengue, Zika and chikungunya cause severe health and economic burdens especially in developing countries. These viruses are primarily vectored by mosquitoes. Having surmounted geographical barriers and threat of control strategies, these vectors continue to conquer many areas of the globe exposing more than half of the world’s population to these viruses. Unfortunately, no medical interventions have been capable so far to produce successful vaccines or antivirals against many of these viruses. Thus, vector control remains the fundamental strategy to prevent disease transmission. The long-established understanding regarding the replication of these viruses is that they reshape both human and mosquito host cellular membranes upon infection for their replicative benefit. This leads to or is a result of significant alterations in lipid metabolism. Metabolism involves complex chemical reactions in the body that are essential for general physiological functions and survival of an organism. Finely tuned metabolic homeostases are maintained in healthy organisms. However, a simple stimulus like a viral infection can alter this homeostatic landscape driving considerable phenotypic change. Better comprehension of these mechanisms can serve as innovative control strategies against these vectors and viruses. Here, we review the metabolic basis of fundamental mosquito biology and virus-vector interactions. The cited work provides compelling evidence that targeting metabolism can be a paradigm shift and provide potent tools for vector control as well as tools to answer many unresolved questions and gaps in the field of arbovirology.

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Section: Fatty Acid Synthesissupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Metabolism Is At the Forefront Of Mosquito Development And B...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Adult Mosquitoesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Ae. aegypti several paralogues of FAS were found (Chotiwan et al, 2022). The study investigated the dynamic expression of FAS genes in relation to developmental stages.…”

Section: Fatty Acid Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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The buzz in the field: the interaction between viruses, mosquitoes, and metabolism

Ratnayake

Chotiwan

Saavedra-Rodríguez

et al. 2023

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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“…Statistical analyses comparing gene expression were performed by using multiple comparison t-test [ 26 ]. Values of gene expression were represented as mean ± SD in at least three independent experiments.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular and expression characterization of insulin-like signaling in development and metabolism of Aedes albopictus

Dai

Ding

et al. 2023

Parasites Vectors

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Background Insulin-like signaling (IS) in insects is a conserved pathway that regulates development, reproduction and longevity. Insulin-like peptides (ILPs) activate the IS pathway by binding to the insulin receptor (InR) and trigger the ERK and AKT cascades. A varying number of ILPs were identified in Aedes aegypti mosquito and other insects. Aedes albopictus is an invasive mosquito which transmits dengue and Zika viruses worldwide. Until now, the molecular and expression characteristics of IS pathway in Ae. albopictus have not been investigated. Methods The orthologues of ILP in Ae. albopictus genome assembly was analyzed by using sequence blast. Phylogenetic analysis and molecular characterization were performed to identify the functional domains of ILPs. Quantitative analysis was performed to determine the expression characteristics of ILPs, InR as well as ERK and AKT in mosquito development and different tissues of female adults after blood-feeding. In addition, the knockdown of InR was achieved by feeding larvae with Escherichia coli-producing dsRNA to investigate the impact of IS pathway on mosquito development. Results We identified seven putative ILP genes in Ae. albopictus genome assembly, based on nucleotide similarity to the ILPs of Ae. aegypti and other insects. Bioinformatics and molecular analyses suggested that the ILPs contain the structural motif which is conserved in the insulin superfamily. Expression levels of ILPs, InR as well as ERK and AKT varied in Ae. albopictus development stages and between male and female adults. Quantitative analyses revealed that expression of ILP6, the putative orthologue of the insulin growth factor peptides, was highest in the midgut of female adults after blood-feeding. Knockdown of Ae. albopictus InR induces a significant decrease in the phosphorylation levels of ERK and AKT proteins and results in developmental delays and smaller body sizes. Conclusions The IS pathway of Ae. albopictus mosquito contains ILP1-7, InR and ERK/AKT cascades, which exhibited different developmental and tissue expression characteristics. Feeding Ae. albopictus larvae with E. coli-producing InR dsRNA blocks the ERK and AKT cascades and interferes with the development of mosquito. Our data suggest that IS pathway plays an important role in the metabolism and developmental process and could represent a potential target for controlling mosquito-borne diseases. Graphical Abstract

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Obesity's Unexpected Influence: Reduced Alphavirus Transmission and Altered Immune Activation in the Vector

Rai,

Webb,

Paulson

et al. 2024

Journal of Medical Virology

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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Mayaro virus (MAYV) are emerging/re‐emerging alphaviruses transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes and responsible for recent disease outbreaks in the Americas. The capacity of these viruses to cause epidemics is frequently associated with increased mosquito transmission, which in turn is governed by virus−host−vector interactions. Although many studies have explored virus−vector interactions, significant gaps remain in understanding how vertebrate host factors influence alphavirus transmission by mosquitoes. We previously showed that obesity, a ubiquitous vertebrate host biological factor, reduces alphavirus transmission potential in mosquitoes. We hypothesized that alphavirus‐infected obese bloodmeals altered immune genes and/or pathways in mosquitoes, thereby inhibiting virus transmission. To test this, we conducted RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) and reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) on midgut RNA from mosquitoes fed on alphavirus‐infected lean and obese mice. This approach aimed to identify potential antiviral or proviral genes and pathways altered in mosquitoes after consuming infected obese bloodmeals. We found upregulation of the Toll pathway and downregulation of several metabolic and other genes in mosquitoes fed on alphavirus‐infected obese bloodmeals. Through gene knockdown studies, we demonstrated the antiviral role of Toll pathway and proviral roles of AAEL009965 and fatty acid synthase (FASN) in the transmission of alphaviruses by mosquitoes. Therefore, this study utilized obesity to identify factors influencing alphavirus transmission by mosquitoes and this research approach may pave the way for designing broadly effective antiviral measures to combat mosquito‐borne viruses, such as releasing transgenic mosquitoes deficient in the identified genes.

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Expression of fatty acid synthase genes and their role in development and arboviral infection of Aedes aegypti

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

The buzz in the field: the interaction between viruses, mosquitoes, and metabolism

The buzz in the field: the interaction between viruses, mosquitoes, and metabolism

Molecular and expression characterization of insulin-like signaling in development and metabolism of Aedes albopictus

Obesity's Unexpected Influence: Reduced Alphavirus Transmission and Altered Immune Activation in the Vector

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