Germline transformation of Aedes fluviatilis (Diptera:Culicidae) with the piggyBac transposable element

• Main Authors: Flávia Guimarães Rodrigues, Sabrina Barbosa Oliveira, Bruno Coelho Rocha, Luciano Andrade Moreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2006-11-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: transgenic mosquitoes; piggyBac; malaria
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762006000700008

The technique to generate transgenic mosquitoes requires adaptation for each target species because of aspects related to species biology, sensitivity to manipulation and rearing conditions. Here we tested different parameters on the microinjection procedure in order to obtain a transgenic Neotropical mosquito species. By using a transposon-based strategy we were able to successfully transform Aedes fluviatilis (Lutz), which can be used as an avian malaria model. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the piggyBac transposable element as a transformation vector for Neotropical mosquito species and opens up new research frontiers for South American mosquito vectors.