A transcriptomic atlas of Aedes aegypti reveals detailed functional organization of major body parts and gut regional specializations in sugar-fed and blood-fed adult females

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.76132
• Publication Date: 2022-04-26T12:01:40Z
• Authors: Bretta Hixson; Xiao-Li Bing; Xiaowei Yang; Alessandro Bonfini; Peter Nagy; Nicolas Buchon
• Keywords: Hindgut; Blood meal; Anopheles gambiae; Malpighian tubule system

Mosquitoes transmit numerous pathogens, but large gaps remain in our understanding of their physiology. To facilitate explorations mosquito biology, we have created Aegypti-Atlas (http://aegyptiatlas.buchonlab.com/), an online resource hosting RNAseq profiles Ae. aegypti body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, gut, Malpighian tubules, ovaries), gut regions (crop, proventriculus, anterior and posterior midgut, hindgut), a time course blood meal digestion. Using Aegypti-Atlas, provide insights into regionalization function, feeding response, immune defenses. We find that the midgut possess digestive specializations which are preserved blood-fed state. Blood initiates sequential induction repression/depletion multiple cohorts peptidases. With respect to defense, signaling components, not recognition or effector molecules, show enrichment ovaries. Basal expression antimicrobial peptides is dominated by holotricin gambicin, expressed carcass tissues, respectively, mutually exclusive manner. In gambicin other effectors almost exclusively regions, while exhibits hallmarks tolerance. Finally, cross-species comparison between Anopheles gambiae midguts, observe regional conserved, indicating dataset may be broadly relevant species. demonstrate orthologous genes highly correlated, with exception 'species signature' comprising few highly/disparately genes. this work, potential unlock more complete biology.