ArticlePloS one2014
Phenylalanine metabolism regulates reproduction and parasite melanization in the malaria mosquito.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Integrated co-expression analysis of host-parasite transcriptomes reveals mechanisms of host modulation in an ant-cestode system.BMC genomics · 2026Article
- Metabolomic changes underpinning permethrin resistance in thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Differences in human skin volatiles between populations with high and low attraction to mosquitoes.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Decoding arthropod vector immunology through bona fide pathogens.Trends in parasitology · 2025Review
- TheProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Proteomic analysis unveils host-parasite interactions in Aedes togoi infected with Dirofilaria immitis and Brugia pahangi.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Hemolymph metabolism of black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), response to different supplemental fungi.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2024Article
- Resource-based trade-offs and the adaptive significance of seasonal plasticity in butterfly wing melanism.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- Unveil the sugar diet and associated environmental compounds in the crop of the mosquitoHeliyon · 2024Article
- Response of the mosquito immune system and symbiotic bacteria to pathogen infection.Parasites & vectors · 2024Review
- Increased virulence due to multiple infection inParasitology · 2024Article
- Nutrients limit production of insects for food and feed: an emphasis on nutritionally essential amino acids.Animal frontiers : the review magazine of animal agriculture · 2023Article
- The effects of circularly polarized light on mating behavior and gene expression inFrontiers in physiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The blood meal of the female malaria mosquito is a pre-requisite to egg production and also represents the transmission route for the malaria parasite. The proper and rapid assimilation of proteins and nutrients in the blood meal creates a significant metabolic challenge for the mosquito. To better understand this process we generated a global profile of metabolite changes in response to blood meal of Anopheles gambiae, using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). To disrupt a key pathway of amino acid metabolism we silenced the gene phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) involved in the conversion of the amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. We observed increased levels of phenylalanine and the potentially toxic metabolites phenylpyruvate and phenyllactate as well as a reduction in the amount of tyrosine available for melanin synthesis. This in turn resulted in a significant impairment of the melanotic encapsulation response against the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. Furthermore silencing of PAH resulted in a significant impairment of mosquito fertility associated with reduction of laid eggs, retarded vitellogenesis and impaired melanisation of the chorion. Carbidopa, an inhibitor of the downstream enzyme DOPA decarboxylase that coverts DOPA into dopamine, produced similar effects on egg melanization and hatching rate suggesting that egg chorion maturation is mainly regulated via dopamine. This study sheds new light on the role of amino acid metabolism in regulating reproduction and immunity.
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