Ammonium transporter expression in sperm of the disease vector <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquito influences male fertility
Andrea C. Durant, Andrew Donini
Abstract
Significance Ammonium transporters (AMT) have been implicated in facilitating nitrogen assimilation in plants and bacteria and ammonia (NH 3 /NH 4 + ) transport for nitrogen regulation and excretion in animals. However, the involvement of AMT proteins in mediating reproductive processes remains unexplored. We report that an insect AMT, AeAmt1, is expressed in the flagellum of spermatozoa from the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti during sperm development through to egg fertilization. We provide evidence that AeAmt1 expression in spermatozoa is critical for sperm survival and overall male fertility. This description of ammonia transporter (AMT and Rh families) expression in the sperm of an animal provides a striking role for these evolutionarily conserved protein families and contributes to our understanding of mosquito reproductive biology.