Mosquito Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult mosquito.

The female mosquito's remarkable ability to hunt humans and transmit pathogens relies on her unique biology. Here, we present the Mosquito Cell Atlas (MCA), a comprehensive single-nucleus RNA sequencing dataset of more than 367,000 nuclei from 19 dissected tissues of adult female and male , providing cellular-level resolution of mosquito biology. We identify novel cell types and expand our understanding of sensory neuron organization of chemoreceptors to all sensory tissues.

Establishing a dominant early larval sex-selection strain in the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi.

Background: Genetic biocontrol interventions targeting mosquito-borne diseases require the release of male mosquitoes exclusively, as only females consume blood and transmit pathogens. Releasing only males eliminates the risk of increasing mosquito bites and spreading pathogens while enabling effective population control. The aim of this study is to develop robust sex-sorting methods for early larval stages in mosquitoes, enabling scalable male-only releases for genetic biocontrol interventions.

Establishing a Male-Positive Genetic Sexing Strain in the Asian Malaria Vector .

Genetic biocontrol interventions targeting mosquito-borne diseases require the release of male mosquitoes exclusively, as only females consume blood and transmit human pathogens. This reduces the risk of spreading pathogens while enabling effective population control. Robust sex sorting methods to enable early larval sorting in mosquitoes need to be developed to allow for scalable sex sorting for genetic biocontrol interventions.

Efficient sex separation by exploiting differential alternative splicing of a dominant marker in Aedes aegypti.

Only female mosquitoes consume blood giving them the opportunity to transmit deadly human pathogens. Therefore, it is critical to remove females before conducting releases for genetic biocontrol interventions. Here we describe a robust sex-sorting approach termed SEPARATOR (Sexing Element Produced by Alternative RNA-splicing of A Transgenic Observable Reporter) that exploits sex-specific alternative splicing of an innocuous reporter to ensure exclusive dominant male-specific expression.

Advances and challenges in synthetic biology for mosquito control.

Mosquito-borne illnesses represent a significant global health peril, resulting in approximately one million fatalities annually. West Nile, dengue, Zika, and malaria are continuously expanding their global reach, driven by factors that escalate mosquito populations and pathogen transmission. Innovative control measures are imperative to combat these catastrophic ailments.

Efficient Sex Separation by Exploiting Differential Alternative Splicing of a Dominant Marker in .

Only female mosquitoes consume blood and transmit deadly human pathogens. Therefore, it is critical to remove females before conducting releases for genetic biocontrol interventions. Here we describe a robust sex-sorting approach termed SEPARATOR (Sexing Element Produced by Alternative RNA-splicing of A Transgenic Observable Reporter) that exploits sex-specific alternative splicing of an innocuous reporter to ensure exclusive dominant male-specific expression.

The chaperone BiP promotes dengue virus replication and mosquito vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypti.

Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP, also known as GRP78), a chaperone and master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway, plays an essential role in several flavivirus infections, but its functional role in regulating dengue virus replication in the mosquito remains largely unknown. We here demonstrated the interaction between a dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) and BiP in Aedes aegypti and report the discovery of a novel functional role of BiP in mosquito vitellogenesis. Silencing Ae.

SUMOylation Is Essential for Dengue Virus Replication and Transmission in the Mosquito .

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is a reversible post-translational protein modifier. Protein SUMOylation regulates a wide variety of cellular processes and is important for controlling virus replication. Earlier studies suggest that dengue virus envelope protein interacts with Ubc9, the sole E2-conjugating enzyme required for protein SUMOylation in mammalian cells.

A flavivirus-inducible gene expression system that modulates broad-spectrum antiviral activity against dengue and Zika viruses.

Incidence of dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), two mosquito-borne flaviviruses, is increasing in large parts of the world. Vaccination and medication for these diseases are unsatisfactory. Here, we developed a novel antiviral approach, using a virus-inducible gene expression system, to block virus replication and transmission.

Blood glucose promotes dengue virus infection in the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Background: Dengue fever is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease globally. More than 2.5 billion people live in dengue-endemic areas.

A Thioester-Containing Protein Controls Dengue Virus Infection in Through Modulating Immune Response.

Complement-like proteins in arthropods defend against invading pathogens in the early phases of infection. Thioester-containing proteins (TEPs), which exhibit high similarity to mammalian complement C3, are thought to play a key role in the innate immunity of arthropods. We identified and characterized anti-dengue virus (DENV) host factors, in particular complement-like proteins, in the mosquito .

DNA topoisomerase IIIβ promotes cyst generation by inducing cyst wall protein gene expression in .

causes waterborne diarrhoea by transmission of infective cysts. Three cyst wall proteins are highly expressed in a concerted manner during encystation of trophozoites into cysts. However, their gene regulatory mechanism is still largely unknown.

Transcription Factor Elf3 Modulates Vasopressin-Induced Aquaporin-2 Gene Expression in Kidney Collecting Duct Cells.

Aquaporin-2 (AQP2) is a molecular water channel protein responsible for water reabsorption by the kidney collecting ducts. Many water balance disorders are associated with defects in AQP2 gene expression regulated by the peptide hormone vasopressin. Here, we studied roles of Elf3 (E26 transformation-specific (Ets)-related transcription factor 3) in AQP2 gene expression in the collecting duct cells (mpkCCD).

A salivary protein of Aedes aegypti promotes dengue-2 virus replication and transmission.

Although dengue is the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral disease in humans, no effective medication or vaccine is presently available. Previous studies suggested that mosquito salivary proteins influence infection by the dengue virus (DENV) in the mammalian host. However, the effects of salivary proteins on DENV replication within the Aedes aegypti mosquito remain largely unknown.

Novel phthalocyanines activated by dim light for mosquito larva- and cell-inactivation with inference for their potential as broad-spectrum photodynamic insecticides.

Mosquitoes are significant vectors, responsible for transmitting serious infectious diseases, including the recent epidemics of global significance caused by, for example, Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses. The chemical insecticides in use for mosquito control are toxic and ineffective due to the development of resistance to them. The new approach to reduce mosquito population by releasing genetically modified males to cause female infertility is still under environmental safety evaluation.

The non-canonical Notch signaling is essential for the control of fertility in Aedes aegypti.

The Notch signaling pathway is a highly evolutionarily-conserved cell-cell signaling pathway that regulates many events during development. It plays a pivotal role in the regulation of fundamental cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, stem cell maintenance, and differentiation during embryonic and adult development. However, functions of Notch signaling in Aedes aegypti, the major mosquito vector for dengue, are largely unknown.

Correction: DNA Topoisomerase II Is Involved in Regulation of Cyst Wall Protein Genes and Differentiation in Giardia lamblia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.

Frizzled 2 is a key component in the regulation of TOR signaling-mediated egg production in the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

The Wnt signaling pathway was first discovered as a key event in embryonic development and cell polarity in Drosophila. Recently, several reports have shown that Wnt stimulates translation and cell growth by activating the mTOR pathway in mammals. Previous studies have demonstrated that the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) pathway plays an important role in mosquito vitellogenesis.

DNA topoisomerase II is involved in regulation of cyst wall protein genes and differentiation in Giardia lamblia.

The protozoan Giardia lamblia differentiates into infectious cysts within the human intestinal tract for disease transmission. Expression of the cyst wall protein (cwp) genes increases with similar kinetics during encystation. However, little is known how their gene regulation shares common mechanisms.

Rab5 and class III phosphoinositide 3-kinase Vps34 are involved in hepatitis C virus NS4B-induced autophagy.

Autophagy has been shown to facilitate replication or production of hepatitis C virus (HCV); nevertheless, how HCV induces autophagy remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that HCV nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B) alone can induce autophagy signaling; amino acid residues 1 to 190 of NS4B are sufficient for this induction. Further studies showed that the phosphorylation levels of S6K and 4E-BP1 were not altered, suggesting that the mTOR/S6 kinase pathway and mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway did not contribute to NS4B- or HCV-induced autophagy.