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Identification and characterization of a putative sevenless homologue in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
Author(s) -
Field L. M.,
James A. A.,
Kobayashi A.,
Brey P. T.,
Katsube K.,
Torre A.,
Roth C. W.,
Natori S.,
Ollo R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2583.1999.820277.x
Subject(s) - biology , anopheles gambiae , anopheles , genetics , vector (molecular biology) , gene , malaria , immunology , recombinant dna
Tyrosine kinase sequences were identified and characterized in Anopheles gambiae , the major vector of malaria in subsaharan Africa. One of these sequences has the characteristics expected for a homologue of the Drosophila sevenless gene, which is necessary for R7 photoreceptor cell fate determination in the developing compound eye. The putative Anopheles seven‐less gene homologue is located in a telomeric region of the X chromosome and is expressed in the head of late larval and pupal stage mosquitoes. Identification of the Anopheles homologue of the sevenless gene is a first step towards the development of a dominant phenotypic marker that could be used for detecting transformed Anopheles mosquitoes in a wide variety of genetic backgrounds and, as such, could be used in the development of transgenic mosquitoes for the control of parasite transmission. Preliminary evidence for sevenless sequences were also found in DNA from blackfly, Mediterranean fruit fly and the honeybee.