femaleless Controls Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation Pathways in Females of Anopheles Mosquitoes
Elzbieta Krzywińska, Luca Ferretti, Jianwei Li, Jian‐Chiuan Li, Chun‐Hong Chen, Jaroslaw Krzywinski
Abstract
Here we show that in the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, a gene, which likely arose in the Anopheles lineage and which we call femaleless (fle), controls sex determination in females by regulating splicing of dsx and fruitless (fru; another terminal gene within a branch of the sex determination pathway). Moreover, fle represents a novel molecular link between the sex determination and dosage compensation pathways. It is necessary to suppress activation of dosage compensation in females, as demonstrated by the significant upregulation of the female X chromosome genes and a correlated female-specific lethality, but no negative effect on males, in response to fle knockdown. This unexpected property, combined with a high level of conservation in sequence and function in anopheline mosquitoes, makes fle an excellent target for genetic control of all major vectors of human malaria.