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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Insecticide resistance in mosquitoes has become a severe impediment to global vector control and manifests as decreased insecticide effectiveness. The role of target site mutations and detoxification enzymes as resistance markers has been documented in mosquitoes; however, the emergence of complex resistant phenotypes suggest the occurrence of additional mechanisms. Cuticular proteins (CPs) are key constituents of the insect cuticle, and play critical roles in insect development and insecticide resistance. In this study, via electron microscopy we observed that the leg cuticle thickness in deltamethrin-resistant (DR) Anopheles sinensis mosquitoes was significantly greater than that measured in deltamethrin-susceptible (DS) An. sinensis. Transcription analysis revealed that cuticle proteins were enriched in the legs, including members of the CPR, CPAP, and CPF families. Further comparisons revealed the specific overexpression of four CP genes in the legs of DR An. sinensis; whose expression levels increased after treatment with deltamethrin. The RNAi-mediated silencing of one CP gene, AsCPF1, resulted in a significant decrease in the leg cuticle thickness of DR mosquitoes and significantly elevated the mortality rate when exposed to deltamethrin. These findings suggest that alterations in the An. sinensis leg cuticle contribute to the insecticide resistance phenotype. AsCPF1 is thereby a target study molecule for investigation of its mode of action, and broader attention should be paid to the role of mosquito legs in the development of insecticide resistance.

Details

Title
A Leg Cuticle Protein Enhances the Resistance of Anopheles sinensis Mosquitoes to Deltamethrin
Author
Li, Lin 1 ; Gu, Ling 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tu, Lei 2 ; Si-Jia Deng 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ju-Ping Hu 3 ; Zi-Ye, Zhang 1 ; Ju-Lin, Li 3 ; Mei-Chun, Zhang 3 ; Cao, Jun 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Jian-Xia, Tang 1 ; Guo-Ding, Zhu 4 

 School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; [email protected] (L.L.); [email protected] (L.G.); [email protected] (Z.-Y.Z.); [email protected] (J.C.); National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Provincial Medical Key Laboratory, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi 214064, China; [email protected] (S.-J.D.); [email protected] (J.-P.H.); [email protected] (J.-L.L.); [email protected] (M.-C.Z.) 
 Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; [email protected] 
 National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Provincial Medical Key Laboratory, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi 214064, China; [email protected] (S.-J.D.); [email protected] (J.-P.H.); [email protected] (J.-L.L.); [email protected] (M.-C.Z.) 
 School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; [email protected] (L.L.); [email protected] (L.G.); [email protected] (Z.-Y.Z.); [email protected] (J.C.); National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Jiangsu Provincial Medical Key Laboratory, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi 214064, China; [email protected] (S.-J.D.); [email protected] (J.-P.H.); [email protected] (J.-L.L.); [email protected] (M.-C.Z.); Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; [email protected] 
First page
2182
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
16616596
e-ISSN
14220067
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3176405786
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.