Open AccessAn Anopheles aquasalis GATA factor Serpent is required for immunity against Plasmodium and bacteria
Author(s) -
Ana C. Bahia,
Marina S. Kubota,
Jayme A. Souza-Neto,
Leonardo Barbosa Koerich,
Ana Beatriz F. Barletta,
Helena R. C. Araújo,
Caroline Macedo Gonçalves,
Claudia María Ríos-Velásquez,
Paulo Pimenta,
Yara Maria Traub-Csekö
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006785
Subject(s) - biology , gene knockdown , gata transcription factor , innate immune system , rna interference , gene , immune system , anopheles , plasmodium (life cycle) , immunity , plasmodium vivax , anopheles gambiae , virology , malaria , genetics , gene expression , immunology , parasite hosting , plasmodium falciparum , rna , promoter , world wide web , computer science
Innate immunity is an ancient and conserved defense system that provides an early effective response against invaders. Many immune genes of Anopheles mosquitoes have been implicated in defense against a variety of pathogens, including plasmodia. Nevertheless, only recent work identified some immune genes of Anopheles aquasalis mosquitoes upon P . vivax infection. Among these was a GATA transcription factor gene, which is described here. This is an ortholog of GATA factor Serpent genes described in Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae . Gene expression analyses showed an increase of GATA-Serpent mRNA in P . vivax -infected A . aquasalis and functional RNAi experiments identified this transcription factor as an important immune gene of A . aquasalis against both bacteria and P . vivax . Besides, we were able to identify an effect of GATA-Serpent knockdown on A . aquasalis hemocyte proliferation and differentiation. These findings expand our understanding of the poorly studied A . aquasalis-P . vivax interactions and uncover GATA-Serpent as a key player of the mosquito innate immune response.