Robust salivary gland-specific transgene expression in Anopheles stephensi mosquito

Abstract

Malaria sporozoites invade the mosquito salivary glands and wait in the salivary duct until the next blood feeding. The mechanisms of the process and molecules involved in the salivary gland invasion remain largely unknown. To establish a robust salivary gland-specific transgene expression in Anopheles stephensi, we obtained a salivary gland-specific promoter for a gene encoding anopheline antiplatelet protein (AAPP). The aapp promoter is a female salivary gland-specific and blood meal-inducible strong promoter. Using this promoter, we generated a transgenic An. stephensi expressing abundant Discosoma sp. red fluorescent protein (DsRed) in the distal-lateral lobes of the glands, where the sporozoites invade preferentially. These results open up the possibilities of elucidating salivary gland-parasite interactions and generating transgenic mosquitoes refractory to parasites.