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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Biological Control of Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418602

Research Project: Biologically-Based Products for Insect Pest Control and Emerging Needs in Agriculture

Location: Biological Control of Insects Research

Title: A head-specific transcriptomic study reveals key regulatory pathways for winter diapause in the mosquito Culex pipiens

Author
item DHUNGANA, PRABIN - Baylor University
item WEI, XUEYAN - Baylor University
item Kang, David
item SIM, CHEOLHO - Baylor University

Submitted to: Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/14/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: During the winter season, the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, overwinters (also called diapause) as a vital survival strategy. This allows them to undergo specific physiological shifts, including enhanced stress resistance, increased lipid storage, and a longer lifespan. The fat body serves as the main organ for nutrient storage, utilization, and hormonal communication. During overwintering there is a notable shift in gene expression in the head. Although there have been significant advancements in screening gene activity in overwintering and non-overwintering mosquitoes, there is still a lack of tissue-specific gene activity analysis in the head Here, we addressed this gap in knowledge.

Technical Abstract: Previous research has shown that changes in phenotype can happen in energy metabolism and reproductive development. However, it is still not clear how these changes are controlled at the transcriptome level in Cx. pipiens. This study involved conducting a thorough analysis of the head in diapausing Cx. pipiens using RNA-seq to screen the transcriptome. Our objective was to discover new genes and analyze the metabolic pathways that could potentially influence the onset and regulation of diapause. Our study demonstrates the diapause's innate adaptive metabolic flexibility, exposing dynamic changes in transcriptional regulation throughout the period.