Tsujimoto Hitoshi, Anderson Michelle A E, Myles Kevin M, Adelman Zach N
Department of Entomology and Agrilife Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States.
Department of Entomology and Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States.
Front Physiol. 2018 Apr 12;9:380. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00380. eCollection 2018.
Mosquito-transmitted viral pathogens, such as dengue and Zika, afflict tens of thousands of people every year. These viruses are transmitted during the blood-feeding process that is required for mosquito reproduction, the most important vector being . While vertebrate blood is rich in protein, its high iron content is potentially toxic to mosquitoes. Although iron transport and sequestration are essential in the reproduction of vector mosquitoes, we discovered that culicine mosquitoes lack homologs of the common iron transporter NRAMP. Using a novel cell-based screen, we identified two ZIP and one ZnT genes as candidate iron transporters in the mosquito , the vector of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. We determined the organ-specific expression pattern of these genes at critical time points in early reproduction. The result indicates modulation of these genes upon blood feeding, especially a ZIP13 homolog that is highly up-regulated after blood feeding, suggesting its importance in iron mobilization during blood digestion and reproduction. Gene silencing resulted in differential iron accumulation in the midgut and ovaries. This study sets a foundation for further investigation of iron transport and control strategies of this viral vector.
蚊子传播的病毒病原体，如登革热病毒和寨卡病毒，每年都会感染数万人。这些病毒在蚊子繁殖所需的吸血过程中传播，最重要的传播媒介是[此处原文缺失具体媒介名称]。虽然脊椎动物血液富含蛋白质，但其高铁含量对蚊子可能有毒。尽管铁的运输和螯合在媒介蚊子的繁殖中至关重要，但我们发现库蚊缺乏常见铁转运蛋白NRAMP的同源物。通过一种新型的基于细胞的筛选方法，我们在登革热、寨卡病毒和基孔肯雅病毒的传播媒介蚊子[此处原文缺失具体蚊子种类名称]中鉴定出两个ZIP基因和一个ZnT基因作为候选铁转运蛋白。我们确定了这些基因在早期繁殖关键时间点的器官特异性表达模式。结果表明，吸血后这些基因会受到调控，尤其是一个ZIP13同源物在吸血后高度上调，这表明它在血液消化和繁殖过程中的铁动员中具有重要作用。基因沉默导致中肠和卵巢中铁的积累出现差异。本研究为进一步研究这种病毒传播媒介的铁运输及控制策略奠定了基础。
