Characterization of polypeptides of the vitellogenic ovay of Culex quinquefasciatus

• Grant number: 14/02331-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Alcira Tania Bijovsky de Katzin
• Grantee: Camila Almeida Calu da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Preliminary studies of Culex quinquefasciatus vitellogenic ovaries during the first gonotrophic cycle (Cardoso et al., 2010) showed, around 48 hours after the blood meal, the presence of electron-dense vesicles at the apical surface of the follicular epithelium, possibly participating in forming one of the chorion layers. Simultaneously, electrophoresis of ovarian extracts detected the appearance of a doublet of polypeptides of 57-60 kDa (Cardoso, 2010).Two-dimensional electrophoresis confirmed the presence of this doublet as well as various other polypeptides lacking in the ovaries of females not fed with blood.The formation of the chorion is very little studied, mainly due to its low solubility. Therefore, we find interesting to explore this temporal coincidence and to characterize by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, this doublet of polypeptides trying to clarify its involvement in the chorion synthesis, as well as other polypeptides temporally involved in the oogenesis.