Functional genomics study of nutrient metabolism and stress-tolerance in the diapausing mosquito Culex pipiens.

During diapause in mosquitoes, stress resistance, cold tolerance, efficient storage and utilization of energy are crucial for prolonging lifespan and surviving prolonged periods of developmental arrest while maximizing reproductive success once diapause is terminated and development recommences. In the mosquito Culex pipiens, we suggested that glycogen synthase played a critical role in glycogen and lipid storage, oxidor (oxidoreductin like protein) enhanced oxidative stress tolerance, and PDZ enhanced actin fortification in muscle tissue to increase cold tolerance. Expression of these genes were two – fivefold higher in early-stage diapause compared to their non-diapausing counterparts. Suppression of these genes with RNAi significantly reduced nutrient storage, stress resistance, cold tolerance, and survivability of diapausing females, which indicates that each of these genes individually play key roles in protecting the mosquitoes during early diapause.