Nix confers heritable sex-conversion in Aedes aegypti and myo-sex is needed for male flight

Aryan, A.; Anderson, M.; Biedler, J. K.; Qi, Y.; Overcash, J. M.; Naumenko, A. N.; Sharakhova, M. V.; Mao, C.; Adelman, Z. N.; Tu, Z.

doi:10.1101/595371

bioRxiv · 10.1101/595371

Nix confers heritable sex-conversion in Aedes aegypti and myo-sex is needed for male flight

Aryan, A.·Anderson, M.·Biedler, J. K.·Qi, Y.·Overcash, J. M.·Naumenko, A. N.·Sharakhova, M. V.·Mao, C.·Adelman, Z. N.·Tu, Z.

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Abstract

A dominant and hemizygous male-determining locus (M locus) establishes the male sex (M/m) in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Nix is a male-determining factor (M factor) in the M locus and its transient expression in females (m/m) results in partial masculinization. Here, we show that the Nix transgene alone was sufficient to convert females into fertile males, which continued to produce sex-converted progeny in subsequent generations. However, assisted mating with wild-type females was necessary, as the converted m/m males could not fly. Knockout of myo-sex, a myosin heavy chain gene and the only other protein-coding gene reported in the M locus, rendered wild-type males flightless. Thus, Nix alone converts female Ae. aegypti to fertile males and myo-sex is required for male flight. Only female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes bite and transmit disease-causing viruses. Nix-mediated female-to-male conversion is 100% penetrant and stable over many generations, indicating great potential for mosquito control.

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Aryan, A., Anderson, M., Biedler, J. K., Qi, Y., Overcash, J. M., Naumenko, A. N., Sharakhova, M. V., Mao, C., Adelman, Z. N., Tu, Z.. 2019-04-01. Nix confers heritable sex-conversion in Aedes aegypti and myo-sex is needed for male flight. https://doi.org/10.1101/595371

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