Identification and analysis of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase in Aedes sollicitans (Diptera: Culicidae)

An NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) gene was identified in Aedes sollicitans Walker (Diptera: Culicidae). The open reading frame is 2,040 bp long, encoding a 679-residue polypeptide. Amino acid sequence analysis indicates that the Ae. sollicitans CPR carries conserved ligand-binding domains and belongs to the same phylogenetic group as CPRs in other mosquitoes. The cDNA of the CPR gene was cloned, and the recombinant protein was expressed in Escherichia coli. Cytochrome c reductase activity was detected in the bacterial cytosolic and membrane fractions and in larval microsomes from two New Jersey Ae. sollicitans populations, indicating that the Ae. sollicitans CPR is enzymatically functional and closely related to that in other dipterans.