The molecular basis of sex determination and differentiation in mosquitoes

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Mosquitoes are the world's most serious disease vectors, with diseases like malaria and dengue killing or causing debilitating illness in millions of people every year. In Canada, the recent mosquito-borne incursion of West Nile Virus poses an as yet undetermined threat to our population, but without appropriate control measures, it could become a more serious problem for both the health and tourism sectors. Aside from their disease transmission potential, mosquitoes are serious nuisance insects and tens of millions of dollars are spent each year in Canada to control these pests. With increasing incidences of insecticide resistance and growing concerns about the adverse affects of these chemicals on non-target species, including humans, we desperately need to find new, preferably pest-specific control methods. In this study, we are examining the processes of sex differentiation in mosquitoes, with the aim of finding new ways to prevent mosquitoes from reproducing. Using molecular genetic techniques, we intend to identify the genes involved in determining the sex of mosquitoes and genes involved in male fertility. Using gene-silencing technologies, we will attempt to develop sterile, all-male lab-bred populations of mosquitoes, which can be used in genetic control programs to reduce pest mosquito populations in genetic sterilization programs, without the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. If genetic control strategies do not prove effective, our screen of genes involved in mosquito reproduction could still provide new targets for new mosquito-specific pesticides. Our identification of genes involved in mosquito fertility may also prove of considerable interest to other research groups examining issues of human fertility, as we will undoubtedly find that some genes are conserved across many species.