Anopheles Gambiaemosgilt Regulates Innate Immune Genes Andzpgexpression

AbstractGene-edited mosquitoes lacking agamma-interferon-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase-like protein, namely (mosGILTnull) have lowerPlasmodiuminfection, which is linked to impaired ovarian development and immune activation. The transcriptome ofmosGILTnullA. gambiaewas therefore compared to wild type (WT) by RNA-sequencing to delineate mosGILT-dependent pathways. Compared to WT mosquitoes,mosGILTnullA. gambiaedemonstrated altered expression of genes related to oogenesis, 20-hydroxyecdysone synthesis, as well as immune-related genes. Serendipitously, the zero population growth gene,zpg, an essential regulator of germ cell development was found to be one of the most downregulated genes inmosGILTnullmosquitoes. These results provide the crucial missing link between two previous studies on the role ofzpgandmosGILTin ovarian development. This study further demonstrates that mosGILT has the potential to serve as a target for the biological control of mosquito vectors and to influence thePlasmodiumlife cycle within the vector.