A male-determining factor in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Sex determination in the mosquito Aedes aegypti is governed by a dominant male-determining factor (M factor) located within a Y chromosome-like region called the M locus. Here, we show that an M-locus gene, Nix, functions as an M factor in A. aegypti. Nix exhibits persistent M linkage and early embryonic expression, two characteristics required of an M factor. Nix knockout with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 resulted in largely feminized genetic males and the production of female isoforms of two key regulators of sexual differentiation: doublesex and fruitless. Ectopic expression of Nix resulted in genetic females with nearly complete male genitalia. Thus, Nix is both required and sufficient to initiate male development. This study provides a foundation for mosquito control strategies that convert female mosquitoes into harmless males.
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Publication
Contributors
Hall A B, Basu S, Jiang X, Qi Y, Timoshevskiy V A, Biedler J K, Sharakhova M V, Elahi R, Anderson M A E, Chen X-G, Sharakhov I V, Adelman Z N, Tu Z
Year
2015
Journal
Science
Volume
348
Issue
6240
Pages
1268-1270
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