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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

An Experimental and Bioinformatics Protocol for RNA-seq Analyses of Photoperiodic Diapause in the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus
Published on: November 30, 2014
Nix is a male-determining factor in the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus
Peiwen Liu1, Binbin Jin1, Xiaocong Li1
1Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China.
Abstract:
The initial signal that governs sex determination is highly variable among insects. A homolog of Nix, the male-determining factor in Aedes aegypti, was previously found in the Asian tiger mosquito Ae. albopictus. Here we show that the Ae. albopictus Nix (AalNix) is more complex in gene structure and splice isoforms than its Ae. aegypti homolog (AaeNix). AalNix shows a similar transcription profile compared to AaeNix. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockouts of AalNix in vivo and in the Ae. albopictus C6/36 cells lead to a shift of dsx and fru splicing towards the female isoforms. G0 knockout males showed feminization and deformities including feminized antennae, absence or partial absence of gonocoxites, gonostyli, testes and accessory glands, and the formation of ovaries. Despite ~70 MY of divergence, Nix functions as a conserved male-determining factor in the two most important arboviral vectors, namely Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus.
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