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Background  Phenol oxidases (POs) catalyze the oxidation of dopa and dopamine to melanin, which is crucial for cuticle formation and innate immune maintenance in insects. Although, Laccase 2, a member of the PO family, has been reported to be a requirement for melanin-mediated cuticle tanning in the development stages of some insects, whether it participates in cuticle construction and other physiological processes during the metamorphosis of mosquito pupae is unclear.    Methods  The association between the phenotype and the expression profile of  Anopheles sinensis Laccase 2  ( AsLac2 ) was assessed from pupation to adult eclosion. Individuals showing an expression deficiency of  AsLac2  that was produced by RNAi and their phenotypic defects and physiological characterizations were compared in detail with the controls.    Results  During the dominant expression period, knockdown of  AsLac2  in pupae caused the cuticle to be unpigmented, and produced thin and very soft cuticles, which further impeded the eclosion rate of adults as well as their fitness. Moreover, melanization immune responses in the pupae were sharply decreased, leading to poor resistance to microorganism infection. Both the high conservation among  Laccase 2  homologs and a very similar genomic synteny of the neighborhood in  Anopheles  genus implies a conservative function in the pupal stage.    Conclusions  To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the serious phenotypic defects in mosquito pupae caused by the dysfunction of  Laccase 2 . Our findings strongly suggest that  Laccase 2  is crucial for  Anopheles  cuticle construction and melanization immune responses to pathogen infections during pupal metamorphosis. This irreplaceability provides valuable information on the application of  Lacccase 2  and/or other key genes in the melanin metabolism pathway for developing mosquito control strategies.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2118-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

parasites and vectors

Suppression of Laccase 2 severely impairs cuticle tanning and pathogen resistance during the pupal metamorphosis of Anopheles sinensis (Diptera: Culicidae)