Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: Saliva of mosquitoes contains anti-platelet, anti-clotting, vasodilatory, anti-complement and antiinflammatory
substances that help the blood feeding process. The salivary polypeptides are at a fast pace of
evolution possibly due to their relative lack of structural constraint and possibly also by positive selection on their
genes leading to evasion of host immune pressure.
Results: In this study, we used deep mRNA sequence to uncover for the first time the sialomes of four Amazonian

Living organisms have evolved an array of genes coding for detoxifying enzymes and efflux protein pumps, to cope with endogenous and xenobiotic toxic compounds. The study of the genes activated during toxic exposure is relevant to the area of arthropod vector control, since these genes are one of the targets upon which natural selection acts for the evolution of insecticide resistance. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters participate to insecticide detoxification acting as efflux pumps, that reduce the intracellular concentration of toxic compounds, or of their metabolic derivatives.

Insecticides remain a main tool for the control of arthropod vectors. The urgency to prevent the insurgence of insecticide resistance and the perspective to find new target sites, for the development of novel molecules, are fuelling the study of the molecular mechanisms involved in insect defence against xenobiotic compounds. In this study, we have investigated if ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, a major component of the defensome machinery, are involved in defence against the insecticide permethrin, in susceptible larvae of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto.

Mosquitoes inhabiting rockpools within supra?littoral zones along the Mediterranean coast belong to the Aedes mariae complex (Coluzzi and Sabatini 1968, Coluzzi et al. 1974b, Schaffner et al. 2001, Mastrantonio et al. 2015). The species in the Ae. mariae complex can be responsible for vectoring bird malaria as vectors of Plasmodium relictum (Clements 1999). Furthermore, they are a biting nuisance for humans in areas densely populated by tourists from spring through autumn.