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Title: The diapausing mosquito Culex pipiens exhibits reduced levels of H3K27me2 in the fat body
Abstract Culex pipiens, the northern house mosquito, is a major vector of West Nile virus. To survive the severe winter, adult mosquitoes enter a diapause programme. Extended lifespan and an increase in lipid storage are key indicators of diapause. Post‐translational modifications to histone proteins impact the expression of genes and have been linked to the lifespan and energy utilisation of numerous insects. Here, we investigated the potential contribution of epigenetic alterations in initiating diapause in this mosquito species. Multiple sequence alignment of H3 sequences from other insect species demonstrates a high conservation of the H3 histone inCx. pipiensthroughout evolution. We then compared the levels of histone methylation in the ovaries and fat body tissues of diapausing and non‐diapausingCx. pipiensusing western blots. Our data indicate that histone methylation levels in the ovaries ofCx. pipiensdo not change during diapause. In contrast, H3K27me2 levels decrease more than twofold in the fat body of diapausing mosquitoes relative to non‐diapausing counterparts. H3K27 methylation plays a crucial role in chromosome activation and inactivation during development in many insect species. This is predominantly governed by polycomb repressor complex 2. Intriguingly, a previous ChIP‐seq study demonstrated that the transcription factor FOXO (Forkhead box O) targets the genes that comprise this complex. In addition, H3K27me2 exhibits dynamic abundance throughout the diapause programme inCx. pipiens, suggesting its potential role in the initial activation of the diapause programme. This study expands our understanding of the relationship between alterations in epigenetic regulation and diapause.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1944214
PAR ID:
10525547
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Insect Molecular Biology
ISSN:
0962-1075
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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