Genetic traits of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae: red stripe, frizzled, and homochromy1.

The expression, inheritance, and linkage relationships of three genetic traits were studied in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Red stripe (Rs) is a common phenotypic polymorphism in numerous A. gambiae populations, whereas frizzled (f) and homochromy1 (hom1) were isolated from (60)Co-irradiated mosquitoes. Red stripe appears as a diffuse stripe of pigment on the dorsum of larvae and pupae and is variable in expressivity and penetrance. Our data demonstrate that Red stripe results from a heterozygous collarless genotype (i.e., c+ c, chromosome 2) and is essentially sex-limited to females. frizzled is a sex-linked recessive semi-lethal identified by deformed lateral larval setae; its lethality manifests as low rates of adult emergence and brief adult survival. frizzled is located on the X chromosome between pink eye and Mosaic, 3 cM from Mosaic and approximately 12 cM from pink eye. Finally, the mutation homochromy1 (hom1) is on chromosome 2 and causes a recessive phenotype that prevents normal darkening of larvae when reared in a black container. Unlike mutants with this characteristic described thus far, the eye color of hom1 mutants is normal. We determined that hom1 is located between Dieldrin resistance and collarless, approximately 3 cM from the latter. We discuss the possibility of differences in male and female recombination values and the range of values that have been observed in test crosses for chromosome 2 markers.

Mosaic: a position-effect variegation eye-color mutant in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

The Mosaic (Mos) mutation, isolated in the F1 of 60Co-irradiated mosquitoes, confers variegated eye color to third and fourth instar larvae, pupae, and adults of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Mos is recessive in wild pink eye (p+) individuals, but is dominant and confers areas of wild-type pigment in mutant pink eye backgrounds. Mos is located 14.4 cM from pink eye on the X chromosome and is associated with a duplication of division 2B euchromatin that has been inserted into division 6 heterochromatin. Various combinations of Mos, pink eye alleles, and the autosomal mutation red eye were produced. In all cases, the darker pigmented regions of the eye in Mos individuals show the phenotypic interactions expected if the phenotype of those regions is due to expression of a p+ allele. Expression of Mos is suppressed by rearing larvae at 32 degrees C relative to 22 degrees C. All of these characteristics are consistent with Mos being a duplicated wild copy of the pink eye gene undergoing position-effect variegation.

A new marker, black, a useful recombination suppressor, In(2)2, and a balanced lethal for chromosome 2 of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

A new marker for the second chromosome of Anopheles gambiae, black, was isolated from progeny of 60Co-irradiated mosquitoes. The black mutation increases melanization of larval setae and portions of the cuticle that are heavily sclerotized such as the saddle and head capsule. Adults have a sooty color that almost completely eliminates white banding on wings, tarsi, and palps. Fertility and general vigor of black individuals is reduced relative to wild-type; however, this does not prevent routine use for genetic crossing. The black marker was mapped to an interval on chromosome 2 between collarless and Dieldrin resistance 22 centiMorgans (cM) from collarless and 39 cM from Dieldrin resistance. We also isolated from 60Co-irradiated mosquitoes a pericentric inversion, In(2)2, that was marked with dominant alleles of the independently assorting genes collarless and Dieldrin resistance. This inversion is in coupling with the pericentric inversion 2Rd and covers approximately two-thirds of chromosome 2 from divisions 9 to 22. While inbreeding In(2)2 heterozygotes, we isolated a stock in which the inversion was in repulsion to a chromosome marked with c b DlS and an unidentified recessive lethal. This arrangement produced a useful and stable chromosome 2 balancer system that has remained intact for 26 generations without selection. These genetic tools will reduce the effort requires to isolate, among other things, the genetic factors affecting malaria parasite interactions with the mosquito host.

The Anopheles gambiae tryptophan oxygenase gene expressed from a baculovirus promoter complements Drosophila melanogaster vermilion.

An Anopheles gambiae cDNA encoding tryptophan oxygenase was placed under the control of the constitutive baculovirus promoter, ie-1. The chimeric construct, expressed transiently in vermilion (tryptophan oxygenase) mutants of Drosophila melanogaster, partially rescued adult eye color. The successful genetic complementation by this construct demonstrated both the proper function of the tryptophan oxygenase product and the effectiveness of the ie-1 promoter in directing expression of foreign genes in live insects. The functionality of An. gambiae tryptophan oxygenase in a higher fly fulfils predictions based on its structural conservation throughout millions of years of independent evolution.