Expression of yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti L.) cationic amino acid transporters in yeast

Aedes aegypti is an invasive mosquito species that transmits yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and other viruses. The Aedes aegypti cationic amino acid transporter 1 and slimfast (AaCAT1 and AaSlif) transport cationic amino acids derived from blood meals and are critical for mosquito egg production. The aim of this study is to develop a high throughput screening protocol to identify small molecule inhibitors for these two transporters. We used heterologous expression of mosquito transporters in yeast deficient in in cationic amino acid transporters to assess a growth phenotype. This project aims at the development of novel insecticides with a new mechanism of action.