Anopheles gambiae Croquemort SCRBQ2, expression profile in the mosquito and its potential interaction with the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei

The scavenger receptor family comprises transmembrane proteins involved in the recognition of polyanionic ligands. Several studies have established that members of this family are involved both in immunity and in developmental processes. In Drosophila melanogaster, one of the best characterized scavenger receptors is Croquemort, which participates in the recognition of apoptotic cells in the embryo. Although comparative genomic studies have revealed the presence of four orthologs of this receptor in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, little is known about their function. We have investigated the expression pattern of the four Croquemort orthologs during the mosquito life cycle. Croquemort transcripts SCRBQ2 and SCRBQ4 are expressed at all the developmental stages, while expression of Croquemort transcripts SCRBQ1 and SCRBQ3 is more restricted. We have also investigated the expression of the four Croquemort orthologs in the different organs of the adult female. Croquemort transcript SCRBQ2 is highly expressed in the A. gambiae female midgut. SCRBQ2 midgut gene expression was up-regulated after a non-infected or a Plasmodium berghei-infected blood meal, compared to its expression in midguts of sugar-fed females. Interestingly, knockdown of SCRBQ2 expression by dsRNA injection resulted in a 62.5% inhibition of oocyst formation, suggesting that SCRBQ2 plays a role in Plasmodium–mosquito interactions.