The ecdysone-induced protein 93 is a key factor regulating gonadotrophic cycles in the adult female mosquito <i>Aedes aegypti</i>
Xueli Wang, Yike Ding, Xiangyang Lu, Danqian Geng, Shan Li, Alexander S. Raikhel, Zhen Zou
Abstract
Significance In female mosquitoes, repeated blood feedings are essential for maintaining gonadotrophic cycles and serve as the basis for pathogen transmission. We demonstrate that the ecdysone-induced protein 93 (E93), a transcription factor implicated in insect metamorphic transitions, regulates reproductive switches in adult females of the major arboviral vector Aedes aegypti . E93 RNA interference before the first gonadotrophic cycle disrupts the second. E93 silencing disturbed the expression of Hormone Receptor 3 and autophagy, both essential for vitellogenesis termination. Transcriptomic analysis reveals a E93-mediated shutdown of gene expression during the end of a reproductive cycle, particularly genes linked to translation, yolk protein precursors, and metabolism. This study has advanced our understanding of the E93 role in controlling the gonadotrophic cyclicity in female mosquitoes.