Shotgun Proteomic Analysis of Protein Expression in Mosquito Ovaries Post Blood Meal

Female mosquitoes require a blood meal for oogenesis and receive a substantial iron load in this meal in the form of holo-transferrin and hemoglobin. During the course of digestion and absorption in the 72 hours post blood feeding, the iron concentration in the gut decreases 10-fold while that in the ovaries more than doubles. Eggs are laid with ~125 ng Fe each; the majority coming from the blood meal. Iron is mitogenic and iron deposition in the ovaries may induce changes in the endogenous protein expression profile over time. Proteomic analysis of extracts from developing ovaries and eggs revealed proteins that are expressed at time intervals of 24 and 72 hours post blood feeding. These analyses may provide further insight into the effect of a blood meal on mosquito iron metabolism and mosquito fecundity.