Silencing of the Hsf gene, the transcriptional regulator of A. gambiae male accessory glands, inhibits the formation of the mating plug in mated females and disrupts their monogamous behaviour
Silencing of the Hsf gene, the transcriptional regulator of A. gambiae male accessory glands, inhibits the formation of the mating plug in mated females and disrupts their monogamous behaviour
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DOI：
10.1179/2047773212y.0000000058
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发表时间：
2012-11-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Crisanti, Andrea
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dottorini, Tania;Persampieri, Tania;Crisanti, Andrea
发现影响冈比亚按蚊（人类疟疾的主要传播媒介）交配行为和生育力的分子因素，对于更好地了解冈比亚按蚊的繁殖成功以及确定疟疾控制措施的新线索至关重要。冈比亚疟蚊交配会引起雌性复杂的行为和生理变化，包括对后续交配的抗拒和诱导产卵。在包括果蝇在内的其他昆虫中，一组由雄性产生并随精子转移到雌性生殖道的名为附属腺蛋白（Acps）的蛋白质与这种交配后反应有关。虽然acp代表一组有前途的候选人解体交配生理学、他们的角色在诱导雌性按蚊在交配行为变化在很大程度上仍是个未知数。在这项工作中，我们证明了通过沉默Acp调节转录因子Hsf来下调大部分Acp基因，消除了交配雌虫中交配塞的形成，并且未能诱导交配雌虫对随后的授精产生抗性。与Hsf沉默的雄性交配的很大一部分雌性（66%）未能接受交配塞，尽管精液已经转移，这是在雌性精子储存器官中精子存在的记录。此外，几乎所有与hsf沉默雄性交配的雌性（95%）在接触携带EGPF标记精子的雄性时都能重新受精。我们的研究结果提供了证据，表明由转录因子HSF调控的Acp基因在男性副腺的功能中起关键作用。
Discovering the molecular factors that shape the mating behaviour and the fertility of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, the principal vector of human malaria, is regarded as critical to better understand its reproductive success as well as for identifying new leads for malaria control measures. In A. gambiae mating induces complex behavioural and physiological changes in the females, including refractoriness to subsequent mating and induction of egg-laying. In other insects including Drosophila a group of proteins named Accessory gland proteins (Acps), produced by males and transferred with sperm to the female reproductive tract, have been implicated in this post-mating response. Although Acps represent a set of promising candidates for unravelling the mating physiology, their role in inducing behavioural changes in mated A. gambiae females remains largely unknown. In this work, we demonstrate that a down-regulation of a large fraction of Acp genes via silencing of the Acp regulating transcription factor Hsf, abolishes the formation of mating plug in mated females and fails to induce refractoriness of mated female to subsequent inseminations. A significant fraction of females mated to Hsf silenced males (66%) failed to receive the mating plug though seminal fluid had been transferred as documented by the presence of spermatozoa in the female sperm storage organ. Furthermore, nearly all females (95%) mated to HSF-silenced males were re-inseminated when exposed to males carrying EGPF marked sperm. Our findings provide evidence showing that Acp genes regulated by the transcription factor HSF play a key role in the function of the male accessory glands.