The Northern House Mosquito, Culex pipiens, is the major vector of West Nile Virus. Adult females of C. pipiens enter a reproductive diapause during the winter in which ovarian development is suppressed until the following spring. Previous work in our lab includes the molecular mechanisms regarding the metabolic switch from blood feeding to sugar gluttony as the mosquito enters diapause, the mechanisms of enhanced desiccation tolerance in diapausing C. pipiens, and the role of insulin and FOXO signaling in regulating the accumulation of fat and entry into diapause. Current projects include the role of the molecular clock in coordinating the photoperiodic cues that trigger diapause. Also, we are interested in comparing the molecular response to photoperiod between C. pipiens and its Southern sister species, C. quinquefasciatus, which is unable to enter diapause.
Figure 1. Diapause increases desiccation tolerance of female C. pipiens (left), and knockdown of insulin receptor (InR) prevents ovarian development and simulates the diapausing phenotype in C. pipiens (right).