Significance: Anopheles gambiae females are the principal vectors of malaria, a disease that kills more than 600,000 people every year. Current control methods using insecticides to kill mosquitoes are threatened by the spread of resistance in natural populations. A promising alternative control strategy is based on interfering with mosquito reproduction to reduce the number of malaria-transmitting females. Here we show that a male hormone transferred to the female during sex induces large changes in female behavior. These changes, defined as the postmating switch, include a physical incapacity for fertilization by additional males and the ability to lay mature eggs. Tampering with the function of this hormone generates unprecedented opportunities to reduce the reproductive success of Anopheles mosquitoes and impact malaria transmission.

Molecular interactions between male and female factors during mating profoundly affect the reproductive behavior and physiology of female insects. In natural populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, blood-fed females direct nutritional resources towards oogenesis only when inseminated. Here we show that the mating-dependent pathway of egg development in these mosquitoes is regulated by the interaction between the steroid hormone 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E) transferred by males during copulation and a female Mating-Induced Stimulator of Oogenesis (MISO) protein. RNAi silencing of MISO abolishes the increase in oogenesis caused by mating in blood-fed females, causes a delay in oocyte development, and impairs the function of male-transferred 20E. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments show that MISO and 20E interact in the female reproductive tract. Moreover MISO expression after mating is induced by 20E via the Ecdysone Receptor, demonstrating a close cooperation between the two factors. Male-transferred 20E therefore acts as a mating signal that females translate into an increased investment in egg development via a MISO-dependent pathway. The identification of this male–female reproductive interaction offers novel opportunities for the control of mosquito populations that transmit malaria. Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are the most deadly vectors of human malaria. The reproductive ability of these mosquitoes contributes to their role as disease vectors as it ensures high population densities for malaria transmission. The number of eggs developed by females after blood feeding depends on whether they have previously mated. Indeed in natural mosquito populations, virgin females rarely develop eggs when blood fed. Here we report on the identification of a molecular interaction between 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E), a steroid hormone transferred by the male during sex, and the Mating-Induced Stimulator of Oogenesis (MISO), a female reproductive protein, expression of which is triggered by mating and leads to increased egg production. We show that the expression of MISO after mating is regulated by 20E via the Ecdysone receptor (EcR). Experimental silencing of MISO reduces the ability of mated females to develop eggs after blood feeding, by reducing expression of a vitellogenic lipid transporter. By showing how male mosquitoes contribute to oogenesis in females, we identify a molecular pathway that can be targeted to reduce the reproductive success of natural mosquito populations to aid malaria control.

Significance: Successful fertilization requires viable sperm and eggs to meet. Some insects, such as the Anopheles gambiae female mosquito, the principal vector of malaria, mate only once and keep sperm received from a male in a specialized sperm storage organ while eggs are developed after taking a blood meal. Sperm are kept functional for several weeks, but the factors and mechanisms that achieve this preservation are unknown in this mosquito. Here we identify a heme peroxidase HPX15 and other mechanisms activated by sex that are important to preserve the functionality of stored sperm and long-term fertility. Disrupting the reproductive cycle in field Anopheles would reduce numbers of mosquitoes transmitting malaria, aiding in the fight against one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Sexual maturation and mating in insects are generally accompanied by major physiological and behavioural changes. Many of these changes are related to the need to locate a mate and subsequently, in the case of females, to switch from mate searching to oviposition behaviour. The prodigious reproductive capacity of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the factors that has led to its success as an invasive pest species. To identify the molecular changes related to maturation and mating status in male and female medfly, a microarray-based gene expression approach was used to compare the head transcriptomes of sexually immature, mature virgin, and mated individuals. Attention was focused on the changes in abundance of transcripts related to reproduction, behaviour, sensory perception of chemical stimulus, and immune system processes. Broad transcriptional changes were recorded during female maturation, while post-mating transcriptional changes in females were, by contrast, modest. In male medfly, transcriptional changes were consistent both during maturation and as a consequence of mating. Of particular note was the lack of the mating-induced immune responses that have been recorded for Drosophila melanogaster, that may be due to the different reproductive strategies of these species. This study, in addition to increasing our understanding of the molecular machinery behind maturation and mating in the medfly, has identified important gene targets that might be useful in the future management of this pest.

Recent advances in genetic engineering are bringing new promise for controlling mosquito populations that transmit deadly pathogens. Here we discuss past and current efforts to engineer mosquito strains that are refractory to disease transmission or are suitable for suppressing wild disease-transmitting populations.