Feeding and Quantifying Animal-Derived Blood and Artificial Meals in &lt;em&gt;Aedes aegypti&lt;/em&gt; Mosquitoes

Jové, Veronica; Venkataraman, Krithika; Gabel, Thomas M.; Duvall, Laura B.

doi:10.3791/61835

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…During the sugar-starvation period in experiments involving subsequent weighing, females were offered deionized water-soaked cotton balls to prevent dehydration. Non-blood-fed controls and experimental group females engorged on blood were both immediately cold anesthetized at 4 °C after offering the blood meal and weighed in respective groups of 5 each, as previously described ( Jové et al, 2020b ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two novel, tightly linked, and rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Venkataraman

Shai

Lakhiani

et al. 2023

eLife

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Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes impose a severe global public health burden as vectors of multiple viral pathogens. Under optimal environmental conditions, Aedes aegypti females have access to human hosts that provide blood proteins for egg development, conspecific males that provide sperm for fertilization, and freshwater that serves as an egg-laying substrate suitable for offspring survival. As global temperatures rise, Aedes aegypti females are faced with climate challenges like intense droughts and intermittent precipitation, which create unpredictable, suboptimal conditions for egg-laying. Here we show that under drought-like conditions simulated in the laboratory, females retain mature eggs in their ovaries for extended periods, while maintaining the viability of these eggs until they can be laid in freshwater. Using transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of Aedes aegypti ovaries, we identify two previously uncharacterized genes named tweedledee and tweedledum, each encoding a small, secreted protein that both show ovary-enriched, temporally-restricted expression during egg retention. These genes are mosquito-specific, linked within a syntenic locus, and rapidly evolving under positive selection, raising the possibility that they serve an adaptive function. CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of both tweedledee and tweedledum demonstrates that they are specifically required for extended retention of viable eggs. These results highlight an elegant example of taxon-restricted genes at the heart of an important adaptation that equips Aedes aegypti females with 'insurance' to flexibly extend their reproductive schedule without losing reproductive capacity, thus allowing this species to exploit unpredictable habitats in a changing world.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two novel, tightly linked, and rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Venkataraman

Shai

Lakhiani

et al. 2023

eLife

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During the sugar-starvation period in experiments involving subsequent weighing, females were offered deionized water-soaked cotton balls to prevent dehydration. Non-blood-fed controls and experimental group females engorged on blood were both immediately cold anesthetized at 4°C after offering the blood meal and weighed in respective groups of 5 each, as previously described ( 82 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Venkataraman

Shai

Lakhiani

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes impose a severe global public health burden as vectors of multiple viral pathogens. Under optimal environmental conditions, Aedes aegypti females have access to human hosts that provide blood proteins for egg development, conspecific males that provide sperm for fertilization, and freshwater that serves as an egg-laying substrate suitable for offspring survival. As global temperatures rise, Aedes aegypti females are faced with climate challenges like intense droughts and intermittent precipitation, which create unpredictable, suboptimal conditions for egg-laying. Here we show that under drought-like conditions simulated in the laboratory, females retain mature eggs in their ovaries for extended periods, while maintaining the viability of these eggs until they can be laid in freshwater. Using transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of Aedes aegypti ovaries, we identify two previously uncharacterized genes named tweedledee and tweedledum, each encoding a small, secreted protein that both show ovary-enriched, temporally-restricted expression during egg retention. These genes are mosquito-specific, linked within a syntenic locus, and rapidly evolving under positive selection, raising the possibility that they serve an adaptive function. CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of both tweedledee and tweedledum demonstrates that they are specifically required for extended retention of viable eggs. These results highlight an elegant example of taxon-restricted genes at the heart of an important adaptation that equips Aedes aegypti females with insurance to flexibly extend their reproductive schedule without losing reproductive capacity, thus allowing this species to exploit unpredictable habitats in a changing world.

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“…For the fluorescent tracer added to the meals, either sugar solution or blood, a 0.2% (w/v) stock solution of aqueous fluorescein sodium salt (VWR Radnor, PA, USA, 0681-100G) was prepared 77,78 , and the tube was then wrapped in aluminum foil to avoid light exposure. All sugar meals were prepared as 10% sucrose and 0.002% (w/v) fluorescein as final concentrations.…”

Section: Solutions and Meals Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated analysis of feeding behaviors of females of the mosquito Aedes aegypti using a modified flyPAD system

Henriques-Santos,

Xiong,

Pietrantonio

2023

Sci Rep

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Mosquitoes present a global health challenge due to their ability to transmit human and animal pathogens upon biting and blood feeding. The investigation of tastants detected by mosquitoes and their associated feeding behaviors is needed to answer physiological and ecological questions that could lead to novel control methods. A high-throughput system originally developed for research in fruit flies feeding behavior, the flyPAD, was adapted and tested for behaviors associated with the interaction or consumption of liquid diets offered to females of the mosquito Aedes aegypti Liverpool strain. Females were given water, sucrose solution and sheep blood in choice and non-choice assays. The volume ingested was evaluated with fluorescein. The placement of the system on a heated surface allowed blood consumption, and without females puncturing a membrane. The flyPAD system recorded nine feeding behavioral variables, of which the number of sips and number of activity bouts correlated with meal volume ingested for both sucrose solution and blood. The adaptation to mosquitoes of the flyPAD system differentiated feeding behavior variables between two feeding deterrents, capsaicin, and caffeine. The flyPAD has potential to quickly assess diverse tastants in both sucrose and blood and may contribute to characterizing more precisely their mode of action.

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Feeding and Quantifying Animal-Derived Blood and Artificial Meals in <em>Aedes aegypti</em> Mosquitoes

Cited by 10 publications

References 37 publications

Two novel, tightly linked, and rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Two novel, tightly linked, and rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Rapidly evolving genes underlie Aedes aegypti mosquito reproductive resilience during drought

Automated analysis of feeding behaviors of females of the mosquito Aedes aegypti using a modified flyPAD system

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