Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 29, 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
The direct regulation of Aalbdsx on AalVgR is indispensable for ovarian development in Aedes albopictus
Binbin Jin1, Yijie Zhao1, Peiwen Liu1
1Department of Pathogen Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Background:
Aedes albopictus is an important vector with an extensive worldwide distribution. Only female mosquitoes play a significant role in the transmission of pathogens. Doublesex (dsx) is a central nexus gene in the insect somatic sex determination hierarchy.
Results:
In this study, we characterized the full-length sex-specific splicing forms of the Ae. albopictus dsx (Aalbdsx) gene. Then, we identified 15 direct target genes of DSX in adult females using digital gene expression combined with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) by performing a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay with specific DSX antibodies. Knockdown of Aalbdsx suppressed ovarian development and decreased the transcript levels of the Aalbdsx target vitellogenin receptor (VgR) gene, whereas vitellogenin (Vg) expression showed an increase in the fat body. Genes in the major Vg regulatory pathway were also up-regulated.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that both Vg and VgR are direct target genes of Aalbdsx and that direct regulation of Aalbdsx on VgR is indispensable for ovarian development in Ae. albopictus, which not only provides a reference for the further elucidation of the evolutionarily conserved role of dsx in Ae. albopictus sexual differentiation but also reveals potential molecular targets for application to the development of sterile male mosquitoes to be released for vector control. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.
