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Scientific article
English

Mosquito biology. Evolution of sexual traits influencing vectorial capacity in anopheline mosquitoes

Contributors

Mitchell, Sara N; Kakani, Evdoxia G; South, Adam; Howell, Paul I; Waterhouse, Robert; Catteruccia, Flaminia

Published in

Science, vol. 347, no. 6225, p. 985-988

Publication date

2015

Abstract

The availability of genome sequences from 16 anopheline species provides unprecedented opportunities to study the evolution of reproductive traits relevant for malaria transmission. In Anopheles gambiae, a likely candidate for sexual selection is male 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Sexual transfer of this steroid hormone as part of a mating plug dramatically changes female physiological processes intimately tied to vectorial capacity. By combining phenotypic studies with ancestral state reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses, we show that mating plug transfer and male 20E synthesis are both derived characters that have coevolved in anophelines, driving the adaptation of a female 20E-interacting protein that promotes oogenesis via mechanisms also favoring Plasmodium survival. Our data reveal coevolutionary dynamics of reproductive traits between the sexes likely to have shaped the ability of anophelines to transmit malaria.

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Anopheles/classification/physiology
  • Anopheles gambiae/classification/physiology
  • Biological Evolution
  • Biological Transport
  • Ecdysterone/metabolism
  • Female
  • Insect Vectors/physiology
  • Malaria/parasitology/transmission
  • Male
  • Mating Preference, Animal/physiology
  • Oogenesis/physiology
  • Oviposition/physiology
  • Phylogeny

UNIGE affiliation entities

Citation (ISO format)

MITCHELL, Sara N et al. Mosquito biology. Evolution of sexual traits influencing vectorial capacity in anopheline mosquitoes. In: Science, 2015, vol. 347, n° 6225, p. 985–988. doi: 10.1126/science.1259435

Main files (1)

Article (Published version)

Identifiers

Journal ISSN

0036-8075
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Technical informations

Creation

29/11/2016 14:49:00

First validation

29/11/2016 14:49:00

Update

15/03/2023 01:12:13

Status update

15/03/2023 01:12:12

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