Cracking Eggs

From malaria to Zika, mosquitoes are infamous vectors of serious diseases, so developing strategies to control their populations would help tackle multiple global health concerns. Recent research on the mosquito Aedes aegypti suggests that this could be achieved by compromising the structure of their eggs. Scientists identified a protein critical to the viability of mosquito eggs, named eggshell organising factor 1 (EOF1). Close-ups under an electron microscope reveal that, compared to healthy eggs (left-hand panels), eggs lacking EOF1 (right) have a different morphology, with larger bumps, or tubercles, on the eggs’ surface. These eggs are also paler, more porous and often collapse, failing to produce viable larvae. As it's specific to Culex, Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes, collectively responsible for transmitting several major diseases, disrupting EOF1 and the processes it controls could hopefully reduce mosquito populations without harming other insects, making it a particularly attractive target for future research.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Emmanuelle Briolat

Writer

A researcher specialising in visual signals in Lepidoptera, camouflage and the effects of light pollution, Emmanuelle’s writing covers a range of topics, from biomedical research to children’s books about moth defences.

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• Image from work by Jun Isoe and colleagues
• Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Biology, January 2019