# New Targets for Reproductive Control of Mosquito Vectors

> **NIH NIH R01** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $446,684

## Abstract

New Targets for Reproductive Control of Mosquito Vectors
Project summary/abstract
In this project, we will investigate the male seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) of a major
disease vector of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses: the yellow fever mosquito
(Aedes aegypti). Insect SFPs trigger major changes in female physiology, conducive to
high fertility (e.g. increased egg production), regulating re-mating and, in mosquitoes,
potentially regulating blood feeding physiology. Dengue is an old scourge, but new
pathogens such as chikungunya and Zika that cycled silently in their sylvatic backdrop
have surged forward and crossed hemispheres with a vengeance. There is an
immediate need to develop novel and effective vector control strategies for these
vectors. In the present funding period, we identified Aedes SFPs and obtained bioactive
fractions and identified components. We developed assays for testing the effects of the
components, and have been successful in using CRISPR-based genome editing to
mutate our first candidates for bioactive SFPs. We also determined the effect of mating
on SFP stores (and production) in males, and on the transcriptome of the mated female.
In this renewal application, for continued support for this project, we propose three
specific aims to (1) identify and functionally characterize bioactive SFPs in vivo in Ae.
aegypti, (2) determine female molecular responses to SFPs in general and physiological
and molecular responses to specific, bioactive, SFPs and (3) understand the phenotypic
and genetic variation of SFPs and their responsive targets in field relevant populations
of this mosquito vector. Our goal is to identify SFPs, and SFP targets, that could be
manipulated as a novel means of reproductive control, or to modify the blood feeding
physiology of these insects that transmit deadly pathogens, with the long-term goal to
reduce or eliminate virus transmission to people.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9851317
- **Project number:** 5R01AI095491-09
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura C Harrington
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $446,684
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2011-06-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9851317

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9851317, New Targets for Reproductive Control of Mosquito Vectors (5R01AI095491-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9851317. Licensed CC0.

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