Malaria Laboratory, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou (CPqRR/FIOCRUZ), Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, Barro Preto, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30190-002, Brazil.
Transgenic Res. 2010 Dec;19(6):1129-35. doi: 10.1007/s11248-010-9375-8. Epub 2010 Feb 13.
Vector-born diseases cause millions of deaths every year globally. Alternatives for the control of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are urgently needed and the use of transgenic mosquitoes that block parasite/virus is a sound strategy to be used within control programs. However, prior to use transgenic mosquitoes as control tools, it is important to study their fitness since different biological aspects might influence their ability to disseminate and compete with wild populations. We previously reported the construction of four transgenic Aedes fluviatilis mosquito lines expressing a Plasmodium- blocking molecule (mutated bee venom phospholipase A(2)-mPLA(2)). Presently we studied two aspects of their fitness: body size, that has been used as a fitness-related status, and the expression of major enzymes classes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics, including insecticides. Body size analysis (recorded by geometric wing morphometrics) indicated that both male and female mosquitoes were larger than the non-transgenic counterparts, suggesting that this characteristic might have an impact on their overall fitness. By contrast, no significant difference in the activity of enzymes related to metabolic insecticide resistance was detected in transgenic mosquitoes. The implication on fitness advantage of these features, towards the implementation of this strategy, is further discussed.
Vector-borne diseases cause millions of deaths every year globally. Alternatives for the control of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are urgently needed and the use of transgenic mosquitoes that block parasite/virus is a sound strategy to be used within control programs. However, prior to use transgenic mosquitoes as control tools, it is important to study their fitness since different biological aspects might influence their ability to disseminate and compete with wild populations. We previously reported the construction of four transgenic Aedes fluviatilis mosquito lines expressing a Plasmodium-blocking molecule (mutated bee venom phospholipase A2-mPLA2). Presently we studied two aspects of their fitness: body size, that has been used as a fitness-related status, and the expression of major enzymes classes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics, including insecticides. Body size analysis (recorded by geometric wing morphometrics) indicated that both male and female mosquitoes were larger than the non-transgenic counterparts, suggesting that this characteristic might have an impact on their overall fitness. By contrast, no significant difference in the activity of enzymes related to metabolic insecticide resistance was detected in transgenic mosquitoes. The implication on fitness advantage of these features, towards the implementation of this strategy, is further discussed.
病媒传播疾病每年在全球导致数百万人死亡。急需替代疟疾和登革热等疾病的控制方法，而使用能够阻止寄生虫/病毒的转基因蚊子是控制计划中一种合理的策略。然而，在将转基因蚊子用作控制工具之前，研究它们的适应性很重要，因为不同的生物学方面可能会影响它们传播和与野生种群竞争的能力。我们之前报道了构建了四个表达疟原虫阻断分子（突变蜂毒磷脂酶 A2-mPLA2）的转基因 Aedes fluviatilis 蚊子系。目前，我们研究了它们适应性的两个方面：体型，这已被用作与适应性相关的状态，以及参与代谢外来物质（包括杀虫剂）的主要酶类的表达。体型分析（通过几何翅膀形态测量学记录）表明，雄性和雌性蚊子都比非转基因对应物大，这表明这个特征可能会对它们的整体适应性产生影响。相比之下，在转基因蚊子中未检测到与代谢杀虫剂抗性相关的酶活性的显著差异。进一步讨论了这些特征对实施该策略的适应性优势的影响。
