Mosquito Ferritin: A Haem-Binding Iron Store Required for Egg Development and Targetable for Malaria Control
tupe, c.; Pasupareddy, R.; Bhatt, S.; Goyal, B.; Kumar, A.; Gupta, A.; Lalwani, A.; Das, R. N.; Sunil, S.; singh, s.; pandey, K. C.; Chakraborti, S.
Show abstract
Iron metabolism is essential for both mosquito reproductive fitness and Plasmodium development within the vector, yet this axis remains insufficiently explored as a potential target for malaria control. Ferritin, the major iron-storage protein and a central regulator of iron homeostasis, has not previously been biochemically or functionally characterized in any hematophagous insect. Our computational and phylogenetic analyses reveal that mosquito ferritin represents a unique case, combining conserved iron-binding motifs with distinctive haem-coordinating residues that confer an exceptionally high haem-binding affinity exceeding that of bacterioferritin. In addition, through a screen of multiple iron chelators in Anopheles larvae, we identified potent candidates with potential utility for vector control. Together, these findings establish mosquito ferritin as an evolutionarily distinct and physiologically essential protein, and they highlight iron homeostasis as a promising dual-target axis for next-generation vector control strategies.
Matching journals
The top 5 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
- Novel function acquired by the Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito D7 salivary protein enhances blood feeding on mammals 95%
- Iron-sensing and redox properties of the hemerythrin-like domains of Arabidopsis BRUTUS and BRUTUS-LIKE2 proteins 94%
- Endogenous formaldehyde scavenges cellular glutathione resulting in cytotoxic redox disruption 94%
Similar papers in this journal
Similar papers in this journal
- The immunomodulatory p43 secreted protein of Trichuris whipworm parasites is a lipid carrier that binds signalling lipids and precursors 93%
- Male-Specific Protein Disulphide Isomerase Function is Essential for Plasmodium Fertilization and Transmission 93%
- An anti-diuretic hormone receptor in the human disease vector, Aedes aegypti: identification, expression analysis and functional deorphanization 93%
Similar papers in this journal
Similar papers in this journal
- Antifungal symbiotic peptide NCR044.1 exhibits unique structure and multi-faceted mechanisms of action that confer plant protection 93%
- High Resolution Structural Insights into Heliorhodopsin Family 93%
- Horizontal gene transfer in the human and skin commensal Malassezia: a bacterially-derived flavohemoglobin is required for NO resistance and host interaction 92%
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.