The Peptide Hormone CNMa Influences Egg Production in the Mosquito Aedes aegypti

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 3; p. 230
• Main Authors: Keyes-Scott, Nia I, Lajevardi, Aryan, Swade, Kyle R, Brown, Mark R, Paluzzi, Jean-Paul, Vogel, Kevin J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.02.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aedes aegypti; Antennae; Antibiotics; Arthropods; Culicidae; Egg production; Eggs; Females; G protein-coupled receptors; Genes; Genomes; GPCR; Hormones; insect endocrinology; Insects; Kinases; Ligands; Membranes; Mosquitoes; Ovaries; Peptides; Phylogenetics; Proteins; Receptors; Reproduction; Tropical diseases; Vector-borne diseases; Yellow fever; Canada; insect endocrinology; GPCR; reproduction
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects13030230

Mosquito reproduction is regulated by a suite of hormones, many acting through membrane-bound receptor proteins. The G protein-coupled receptors AAEL024199 (AeCNMaR-1a) and AAEL018316 (AeCNMaR-1b) were identified as orthologs of the CNMa receptor (DmCNMaR). The receptor was duplicated early in the evolution of insects, and subsequently in Culicidae, into what we refer to as CNMaR-1a and CNMaR-1b. AeCNMaR-1a is only detected in male mosquito antennae while AeCNMaR-1b is expressed at high levels in mosquito ovaries. Using a heterologous cell assay, we determined that AeCNMa activates AeCNMaR-1a with a ~10-fold lower concentration than it does AeCNMaR-1b, though both receptors displayed half maximal effective concentrations of AeCNMa in the low nanomolar range. Finally, we show that injections of AeCNMa into blood-fed mated female resulted in fewer eggs laid.