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Tag: mosquito

Insulin-like peptides activate egg formation in the Asian malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi

Donna Huber on October 7, 2025

Background: The mosquito family Culicidae diverged into the subfamilies Anophelinae and Culicinae approximately 179 million years ago. Most female mosquitoes are anautogenous and must blood-feed on a vertebrate to produce eggs. Regulation of egg-producing gonotrophic cycles is best understood in the culicine Aedes aegypti. Anopheline mosquitoes encode all of the hormones that regulate gonotrophic cycles in …

Recent insights in the development and functions of insect hemocytes

Donna Huber on September 15, 2025

Hemocytes mediate defense responses that are collectively referred to as cellular immunity. Here I highlight recent progress in the study of hemocyte ontogeny and function. Studies conducted primarily in D. melanogaster, mosquitoes and Lepidoptera identify a number of transcription factors and signaling pathways that regulate hemocyte differentiation and proliferation. Recent single cell RNA sequencing studies …

Protocol for detecting peptide hormones in mosquito tissues

Donna Huber on May 24, 2025

Peptide hormones in insects are primarily expressed in specialized brain, ventral nerve chord, and midgut cells. When released, peptide hormones play crucial roles in regulating physiology, reproduction, and behavior. Here, we present a protocol for detecting peptide hormones in mosquito tissues such as the brain, midgut, and hemolymph. We describe steps for tissue preparation, immunocytochemistry, …

In the news: Michael Strand

Donna Huber on July 8, 2024

Michael Strand is a Regents Professor in the Department of Entomology and member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. His mosquito research has recently been featured in a number of news stories. What drives mosquitoes’ bloodlust? Their hormones (Nature) The Science Behind What Makes Mosquitoes Bite You! Explained (News 9) Mosquito bloodlust …

Reciprocal interactions between neuropeptide F and RYamide regulate host attraction in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Donna Huber on July 1, 2024

Female mosquitoes produce eggs in gonadotrophic cycles that are divided between a previtellogenic and vitellogenic phase. Previtellogenic females consume water and sugar sources like nectar while also being attracted to hosts for blood feeding. Consumption of a blood meal activates the vitellogenic phase, which produces mature eggs and suppresses host attraction. In this study, we …

The influence of oviposition status on measures of transmission potential in malaria-infected mosquitoes depends on sugar availability

Donna Huber on May 23, 2024

Background: Like other oviparous organisms, the gonotrophic cycle of mosquitoes is not complete until they have selected a suitable habitat to oviposit. In addition to the evolutionary constraints associated with selective oviposition behavior, the physiological demands relative to an organism’s oviposition status also influence their nutrient requirement from the environment. Yet, studies that measure transmission potential …

On the origin and evolution of the mosquito male-determining factor Nix

Donna Huber on December 21, 2023

The mosquito family Culicidae is divided into two subfamilies named the Culicinae and Anophelinae. Nix, the dominant male-determining factor, has only been found in the culicines Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, two important arboviral vectors that belong to the subgenus Stegomyia. Here we performed sex-specific whole-genome sequencing and RNAseq of divergent mosquito species and explored …

Increased environmental microbial diversity reduces the disease risk of a mosquitocidal pathogen

Donna Huber on December 7, 2023

The host-specific microbiotas of animals can both reduce and increase disease risks from pathogens. In contrast, how environmental microbial communities affect pathogens is largely unexplored. Aquatic habitats are of interest because water enables environmental microbes to readily interact with animal pathogens. Here, we focused on mosquitoes, which are important disease vectors as terrestrial adults but …

Blood meals from ‘dead-end’ vertebrate hosts enhance transmission potential of malaria-infected mosquitoes

Donna Huber on November 30, 2023

Ingestion of an additional blood meal(s) by a hematophagic insect can accelerate development of several vector-borne parasites and pathogens. Most studies, however, offer blood from the same vertebrate host species as the original challenge (for e.g., human for primary and additional blood meals). Here, we show a second blood meal from bovine and canine hosts …

The mosquito Aedes aegypti requires a gut microbiota for normal fecundity, longevity and vector competence

Donna Huber on November 13, 2023

Mosquitoes shift from detritus-feeding larvae to blood-feeding adults that can vector pathogens to humans and other vertebrates. The sugar and blood meals adults consume are rich in carbohydrates and protein but are deficient in other nutrients including B vitamins. Facultatively hematophagous insects like mosquitoes have been hypothesized to avoid B vitamin deficiencies by carryover of …