Dengue virus (DENV) acquisition by mosquitoes during blood feeding largely depends on the magnitude of human viremia but it is also modulated by blood metabolites. Characterizing the mode of action of these modulating host factors is essential to the development of new strategies to reduce DENV transmission such as transmission-blocking vaccines. We have previously observed that the probability of DENV infection in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes is negatively correlated with the concentration of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in the infectious blood meal. In this project, we will investigate this effect by transcriptomic profiling to identify physiological changes in the mosquito that are triggered by LDL.
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