TY - JOUR TI - Identification and expression of the cytochrome P450 reductase gene in Aedes sollicitans (Walker) (Diptera: culicidae) DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3C24WJN PY - 2010 AB - Aedes sollicitans (Walker) is an important vector of mosquito-borne diseases. Cytochrome P450 system is one of the most important enzyme families involved in the metabolic responses of living organisms to foreign chemicals. To explore the specific functions of individual cytochrome P450s, it is important to identify the cytochrome P450 reductase gene. The cytochrome P450 reductase genes were identified in Ae. sollicitans from Cape May, Middlesex and Ocean County, New Jersey. The cytochrome P450 reductase gene has an open reading frame of 2040 bp encoding 679 amino acid residues. The comparison among 679 amino acid residues deduced from the cytochrome P450 reductase gene obtained from three mosquito populations showed that mutations had occurred at the nucleotide level but did not produce amino acid changes except in one case. In Ocean County mosquito population, the amino acid serine was changed to glycine. The amino acid change was not considered to cause any functional change of cytochrome P450 reductase since the mutation was not located in any functional region. Quantitative real-time expression analysis showed that the expressions of CYP6BB1 and cytochrome P450 reductase mRNAs were not significantly different in fourth instar larvae or in different body parts of adult female mosquitoes in populations from three locations. The study implied that CYP6BB1 was ubiquitously expressed in female mosquitoes and its expression occurred in both larvae and adults. The cytochrome P450 reductase gene was expressed in E. coli cells and molecular mass of the protein was estimated to be 78 kDa. Its activity was assayed in both the cytosolic and cell membrane fractions. The activity in the cytosol was much higher than that in the membrane fractions. The cytochrome P450 reductase activities in microsomes of Ae. sollicitans collected from the three locations were assayed. The results showed no statistically significant differences. This is the first study of cytochrome P450 reductase in Ae. sollicitans. The identification and expression of the cytochrome P450 reductase gene provide further insights on how cytochrome P450s metabolize substrates and make it possible to explore the specific functions of each cytochrome P450 gene. The study is not only meaningful for Ae. sollicitans but also for other mosquito species. KW - Entomology KW - Cytochrome P-450 KW - Mosquitoes as carriers of disease LA - eng ER -