Functional modification of lipid metabolism genes during diapause in Aedes albopictus

Transgenerational signaling between mothers and offspring allows many organisms, including pests and pollinators, to anticipate and survive seasonal changes. Determining the mechanisms that convey transgenerational signals is a fundamental challenge relevant to a wide range of ecological adaptations. Among insects, mothers often predict the onset of winter through the “photoperiodic” cue of shortening day length, and respond by triggering their offspring to enter diapause, a hormonally-programmed period of developmental arrest. Since most insects do not feed during diapause, maternal provisioning of nutrients, especially lipids, is critical for offspring survival. While the ecological significance of diapause is well understood, the molecular mechanisms regulating transgenerational signaling and lipid provisioning remain unknown. My work uses RNAi to examine the functional role of two maternally expressed genes, lipid storage droplet 2 (LSD2) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) as regulators of lipid provisioning, diapause incidence, and post-diapause fitness in the invasive and medically important mosquito vector, Aedes albopictus.