Whole-genome transcriptional changes in response to a blood meal in the principal dengue fever vector, Aedes aegypti

Hematophay is a common trait of insect vectors of disease, including the main vector of dengue fever: the mosquito Aedes aegypti (Diptera, Culicidae). We investigated genome-wide transcriptional changes of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in response to a blood meal. Specifically, the Illumina RNAseq technology was utilized to provide a holistic picture of the transcriptional profile of blood-fed and sugar-fed mosquitoes. Analyses of the blood meal-induced transcriptional changes allowed the identification of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) located at the flanking DNA sequences of genes whose transctition is highly-induced after a blood-meal. The identified CREs may be used as tools for driving temporally-specific expression of anti-pathogen effector molecules in transgenic mosquitoes. Transgenic mosquitoes impaired in transmission of viruses and parasites have been proposed as components of novel integrated approaches for controlling disease transmission. In addition to allowing the identification of CREs, these data helped refine the annotation of the Ae. aegypti genome and describe biological processes elicited by a blood meal, with particular attention to those genes described previously as important in vector-pathogen interactions.