中科院分子植物科学卓越创新中心王四宝和美国约翰霍普金斯大学Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena研究组合作的最新研究表明，节律基因和环境信息协同调控按蚊信息素的合成、聚集和交配。该项研究成果发表在2021年1月22日出版的《科学》上。

研究人员发现按蚊集群和交配是由节律基因、光和温度协调控制的。转录组分析显示，田野里成群按蚊雄性头部节律基因period (per) 和timeless （tim）上调。抑制per和tim表达会影响实验室条件下雄性冈比亚按蚊（Anopheles gambiae s.s.）和斯蒂芬斯按蚊（Anopheles stephensi ）的交配、减少了雄性冈比亚按蚊集群和半野外条件下的交配。光和温度可能通过调节per和/或tim表达来影响蚊子的交配。

此外，去饱和酶编码基因desat1在成群雄性头部中表达上调并有序表达，其通过调节表皮碳氢化合物（包括庚烷）的生成从而激活交配活性。

据介绍，按蚊交配是由雄性在黄昏时成群繁殖，然后雌性飞入蚁群而开始的。 

附：英文原文

Title: Clock genes and environmental cues coordinate Anopheles pheromone synthesis, swarming, and mating

Author: Guandong Wang, Joel Vega-Rodríguez, Abdoulaye Diabate, Jingnan Liu, Chunlai Cui, Charles Nignan, Ling Dong, Fang Li, Cheick Oumar Ouedrago, Abdoul Malik Bandaogo, Péguédwindé Simon Sawadogo, Hamidou Maiga, Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Tales Vicari Pascini, Sibao Wang, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena

Issue&Volume: 2021/01/22

Abstract: Anopheles mating is initiated by the swarming of males at dusk followed by females flying into the swarm. Here, we show that mosquito swarming and mating are coordinately guided by clock genes, light, and temperature. Transcriptome analysis shows up-regulation of the clock genes period (per) and timeless (tim) in the head of field-caught swarming Anopheles coluzzii males. Knockdown of per and tim expression affects Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles stephensi male mating in the laboratory, and it reduces male An. coluzzii swarming and mating under semifield conditions. Light and temperature affect mosquito mating, possibly by modulating per and/or tim expression. Moreover, the desaturase gene desat1 is up-regulated and rhythmically expressed in the heads of swarming males and regulates the production of cuticular hydrocarbons, including heptacosane, which stimulates mating activity.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abd4359

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6527/411