Relish-mediated immune deficiency in the transgenic mosquito Aedes aegypti

Autor(es): Shin Sang Woon,Kokoza Vladimir,Lobkov Iouri,Raikhel Alexander S


Resumo: The lack of genetic means has been a serious limitation in studying mosquito immunity. We generated Relish-mediated immune deficiency (RMID) by transforming Aedes aegypti with the Delta Rel transgene driven by the vitellogenin (Vg) promoter using the pBac[3xP3-EGFP, afm] vector. A stable transformed line had a single copy of the Vg-Delta Rel transgene. The Vg-Delta Rel transgene expression was highly activated by blood feeding, and transgenic mosquitoes were extremely susceptible to the infection by Gram-negative bacteria. This RMID phenotype was characterized by severely reduced postinfection levels of antimicrobial peptides genes, defensin and cecropin. Crossing the RMID line with the wild-type strain produced the same RMID phenotype, indicating its dominant nature, whereas crossing with the Vg-def transgenic line, in which Defensin A was activated by blood feeding, restored the immunity to Enterobacter cloacae.


Imprenta: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 100, n. 5, p. 2616-2621, 2003


Identificador do objeto digital: 10.1073/pnas.0537347100


Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Genome ; Aedes aegypti - Pathogenesis ; Aedes aegypti - Proteins ; Aedes aegypti - Public health


Data de publicação: 2003