Transcriptional regulation of mosquito oogenesis

<p>The Eastern treehole mosquito, <i>Aedes triseriatus</i> (Say), is the primary vector of La Crosse virus (LACV) in the United States. LACV is maintained in natural populations in part by transovarial transmission from infected females to their progeny. Our understanding of the innate immune response in mosquito ovaries is a fundamental step toward understanding the transmission cycle of LACV and other vertically transmitted arthropod-borne viruses. We investigated signaling mechanisms between the nutrient content of the vertebrate blood meal and activation of mosquito egg development. In particular, the target of rapamycin (TOR) serine/threonine protein kinase is a central regulator of nutritional signaling, and we examined the roles of TOR and its downstream target, S6K, in <i>Ae. triseriatus</i> by RNA interference. We also examined the transcriptomes of <i>Ae. triseriatus</i> and <i>Ae. aegypti</i> (L.) ovaries by Illumina RNA-seq. We assembled 17,743 novel transcript sequences from <i>Ae. triseriatus</i> ovary mRNA using a novel and highly accurate assembly method, and we identified genes that are differentially regulated during the processes of follicular atresia, apoptosis, and autophagy. Distinct differences exist between the transcriptional regulation of <i>Ae. triseriatus</i> and <i>Ae. aegypti</i> oogenesis. TOR and many other proteins with previously unknown function are transcriptionally regulated during apoptosis and autophagy in mosquito ovaries during oogenesis.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

thesis

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Entomology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Jennings, Patrick

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lyric C. Bartholomay

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-1475

Identifier

archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12181/

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dr.lib.iastate.edu:20.500.12876/26374