Molecular correlates of swarming behaviour in Aedes aegypti males.

Abstract

Mosquitoes are the deadliest vectors of disease. They impose a huge health burden on human populations spreading parasites as disparate as protozoans (malaria), viruses (yellow fever and more), and nematodes (filariasis), which cause life-threatening conditions. In recent years, mating has been proposed as a putative target for population control. Mosquitoes mate mid-air in swarms initiated by males and triggered by a combination of internal and external stimuli. As the number of females in a swarm is limited, there is intense competition among males. Indeed, males retune their physiology for this demanding behaviour but the underlying genetic changes are largely unknown. Interestingly, recent evidence indicates that the upregulation of circadian clock genes may be involved in the swarming of malaria mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Here, we use whole-head RNA-seq to identify gene expression changes in Aedes aegypti males who are engaged in swarming in a laboratory setting. Our results suggest that swarming males tend to lower some housekeeping functions while increasing the remodelling of the cytoskeleton and neuronal connectivity; the transcription of circadian clock genes is unaffected.