Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39827175›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Early attainment of 20-hydroxyecdysone threshold shapes mosquito sexual dimorphism in developmental timing.

Meichun Zhang, Han Wen, Qiang Sun, Dongjing Zhang, Yongjun Li, Andrew Xi, Xiaoying Zheng, Yu Wu, Jun Cao, Jeremy Bouyer and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Meichun ZhangDepartment of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3134-8099
Han WenDepartment of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1820-3220
Qiang SunDepartment of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Dongjing ZhangChinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of the Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3960-1036
Yongjun LiDepartment of Pathogen Biology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Andrew XiDepartment of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Xiaoying ZhengChinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of the Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yu WuChinese Atomic Energy Agency Center of Excellence on Nuclear Technology Applications for Insect Control, Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of the Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Jun CaoNational Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5298-9234
Jeremy BouyerInsect Pest Control Sub-programme, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Vienna, Austria.
Zhiyong XiDepartment of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. xizy@msu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7786-012X

Funding

United States Agency for International Development (U.S. Agency for International Development) AID-OAA-F-16-00082
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In holometabolous insects, critical weight (CW) attainment triggers pupation and metamorphosis, but its mechanism remains unclear in non-model organisms like mosquitoes. Here, we investigate the role of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in CW assessment and pupation timing in Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti, vectors of arboviruses including dengue and Zika. Our results show that the attainment of CW is contingent upon surpassing a critical 20E threshold, which results in entrance into a constant 22 h interval and the subsequent 20E pulse responsible for larval-pupal ecdysis. Sexual dimorphism in pupation time arises from higher basal 20E levels in males, enabling earlier CW attainment. Administering 20E at 50% of L3/L4 molt, when most of males but not females pass the pulse, results in female-specific lethality. These findings highlight the pivotal role of 20E thresholds in CW, pupation timing, and sexual dimorphism, suggesting that manipulating 20E levels can skew populations male, offering a potential mosquito sex separation strategy.

Indexed as

AedesEcdysteroneSex CharacteristicsAnimalsBody WeightFemaleLarvaMaleMetamorphosis, BiologicalMoltingMosquito VectorsPupaEcdysterone

Identifiers

PMID39827175
PMCPMC11743200

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.