# Investigating the Role of Gr23 Gene in the Mating Capacity of Malaria Vector Mosquito Anopheles coluzzii

> **NIH NIH R03** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $79,229

## Abstract

Project Summary
As one of the most important vectors for the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which infected
approximately 228 million people worldwide in 2018 and accounted for more than 400,000 deaths (WHO,
2019), the An. coluzzii mosquito has long been a formidable concern to public health. These mosquitoes rely
heavily on their chemosensory system to detect chemical cues involved in the mating process, including
aggregation pheromones and cuticular hydrocarbons. Swarm aggregation pheromones increase the possibility
of encountering female mosquitoes while cuticular hydrocarbons help male mosquitoes recognize conspecific
females. A recent finding of ours indicated that not only were Gr23-null mutants insensitive to carbon dioxide
stimulation, they also appeared to have some mating defect, as they failed to self-breed. Previous
transcriptomic studies in Aedes mosquitoes indicated that Gr23 is expressed in CO2-sensitive neurons in the
maxillary palps, but presents the highest expression among all gustatory receptors in the antennae and other
chemosensory appendages, which suggests additional roles of Gr23 in chemosensation beyond CO2
reception. Therefore, the aim of this research proposal is to determine the role of Gr23 in the mating capacity
of An. coluzzii. Here, we hypothesize that the observed self-breeding defect of Gr23 mutants is due to their
inability to detect mating-related chemical cues, and that the Gr23 receptor plays a critical role in this
chemosensory process. Accordingly, the fundamental questions I propose to address are: (1) what is the
expression pattern of Gr23 in the chemosensory neurons of the mating-related appendages in An. coluzzii? (2)
What is the molecular function of Gr23 in detecting the mating-related semiochemicals? In addressing these
questions, this work will further our understanding of the role of Gr23 in the mosquito's odor-mediated mating
process, which would have great potential as a novel molecular target in mosquito control.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10288802
- **Project number:** 1R03AI164095-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** LAURENCE J ZWIEBEL
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $79,229
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-09 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10288802

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10288802, Investigating the Role of Gr23 Gene in the Mating Capacity of Malaria Vector Mosquito Anopheles coluzzii (1R03AI164095-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10288802. Licensed CC0.

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