Control of larval and egg development in Aedes aegypti with RNA interference against juvenile hormone acid methyl transferase

•Inhibition of JHAMT expression in the ovary and CA.•jmtA dsRNA and jmtA LHP RNA.•Inhibition of egg development.•Inhibition of larval development.•Pichia pastoris cloning and expression.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful approach for elucidating gene functions in a variety of organisms, including mosquitoes and many other insects. Little has been done, however, to harness this approach in order to control adult and larval mosquitoes. Juvenile hormone (JH) plays a pivotal role in the control of reproduction in adults and metamorphism in larval mosquitoes. This report describes an approach to control Aedes aegypti using RNAi against JH acid methyl transferase (AeaJHAMT), the ultimate enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of JH III that converts JH acid III (JHA III) into JH III. In female A. aegypti that were injected or fed jmtA dsRNA targeting the AeaJHAMT gene (jmtA) transcript, egg development was inhibited in 50% of the treated females. In mosquito larvae that were fed transgenic Pichia pastoris cells expressing long hair pin (LHP) RNA, adult eclosion was delayed by 3 weeks causing high mortality. Northern blot analyses and qPCR studies show that jmtA dsRNA causes inhibition of jmtA transcript in adults and larvae, which is consistent with the observed inhibition of egg maturation and larval development. Taken together, these results suggest that jmtA LHP RNA expressed in heat inactivated genetically modified P. pastoris cells could be used to control mosquito populations in the marsh.

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