Mechanism of E93-mediated metabolic homeostasis in female A. aegypti mosquitoes after blood ingestion. Photo: Laboratory of Professor Zou Zhen.
Mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue fever, Zika and yellow fever, continue to pose a significant global health threat, infecting millions of people each year. However, current control efforts face increasing challenges caused by growing insecticide resistance and limited availability of effective vaccines. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms that control mosquito reproduction has become essential to addressing this public health crisis.
For female mosquitoes to reproduce, they must consume blood, a behavior that causes dramatic metabolic changes to support egg development and maturation. However, until now it remained unclear how mosquitoes coordinate energy use with reproductive processes.
To fill this knowledge gap, a research team led by Professor Zou Zhen from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Professor Alexander S. Reichel from the University of California, Riverside, identified a key gene: E93. This gene plays a central role in maintaining metabolic balance throughout the mosquito's reproductive cycle.
The study shows that E93 regulates metabolism by modulating the insulin signaling pathway and directly suppressing the expression of PEPCK genes, which are critical for gluconeogenesis, the process that produces glucose for energy. These actions allow mosquitoes to effectively manage energy reserves after blood feeding, an important step for successful reproduction.
The study was recently published V Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This discovery not only deepens scientific understanding of mosquitoes. reproductive biology but also offers new ideas to inform strategies to control the spread mosquito-borne diseases.
In addition, the researchers noted that the functional domains of the E93 protein are highly conserved across insect species. This means the findings may extend beyond mosquitoes, providing clues to the study of metabolic regulation by E93 in a wide range of insects.
Additional information:
Xueli Wang et al., Genomic and insulin-mediated control of metabolic homeostasis by mosquito ecdysone-induced E93 gene, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2511572122
Provided by
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Citation: Mosquito reproduction may depend on E93 gene, which links blood intake to energy intake (2025, November 14), retrieved November 14, 2025, from https://phys.org/news/2025-11-mosquito-reproduction-hinge-e93-gene.html.
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