Abstract
Aedes aegypti is a model species in which the endogenous regulation of odor-mediated host seeking behavior has received some attention. Sugar feeding and host seeking in female A. aegypti are transiently inhibited following a blood meal. This inhibition is partially mediated by short neuropeptide F (sNPF). The paired antennal lobes (ALs), as the first processing centers for olfactory information, has been shown to play a significant role in the neuropeptidergic regulation of odor-mediated behaviors in insects. The expression of sNPF, along with other peptides in the ALs of A. aegypti, indicate parallel neuromodulatory systems that may affect olfactory processing. To identify neuropeptides involved in regulating the odor-mediated host seeking behavior in A. aegypti, we use a semi-quantitative neuropeptidomic analysis of single ALs to analyze changes in the levels of five individual neuropeptides in response to different feeding regimes. Our results show that the level of sNPF-2, allatostatin-A-5 (AstA-5) and neuropeptide-like precursor-1-5 (NPLP-1-5), but not of tachykinin-related-peptides and SIFamide (SIFa), in the AL of female mosquitoes, changes 24 h and 48 h post-blood meal, and are dependent on prior access to sugar. To assess the role of these neuropeptides in modulating host seeking behavior, when systemically injected individually, sNPF-2 and AstA-5 significantly reduced host seeking behavior. However, only the injection of the binary mixture of the two neuropeptides lead to a host seeking inhibition similar to that observed in blood fed females. We conclude that modulation of the odor mediated host seeking behavior of A. aegypti is likely regulated by a dual neuropeptidergic pathway acting in concert in the ALs.
Highlights
Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue, zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever that affect millions of people annually [1]
The purpose of this study is to identify changes in the expression levels of selected neuropeptides in the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL), and determine their effect on host seeking in A. aegypti
For the MALDI-TOF MS analyses, we investigated the levels of selected AL neuropeptides in non-blood fed but sugar fed, blood fed, and blood and sugar fed mosquitoes to assess the effect of feeding regime on neuropeptide expression
Summary
Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue, zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever that affect millions of people annually [1]. These diseases are transmitted by female mosquitoes during blood feeding, which are located during a process known as host seeking, a behavior predominantly driven by olfactory cues [2]. The purpose of this study is to identify changes in the expression levels of selected neuropeptides in the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL), and determine their effect on host seeking in A. aegypti. As the first processing center for olfactory information, the paired antennal lobes (ALs) play a significant role in the neuropeptidergic regulation of odor-mediated behaviors, as shown in Drosophila melanogaster [14,15]
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