Our main interest is the study of the genetic basis of fertilization and mating behaviour in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the major malaria vectors, with the view to both answer basic biological questions and develop new molecular and genetic tools for vector control programs. Mating and reproduction in general are important targets for strategies designed to control the sizes of wild populations of Anopheles. Indeed, mating is a particularly vulnerable stage in the mosquito life cycle as females only mate once during their lives. Our research aims to identify the molecular systems regulating mating success in both males and females.

In particular, we are analyzing the molecular bases of post-mating behaviour in Anopheles. In many insect species, mating induces important behavioural and physiological changes in females. These include changes in flight activity, induction of mating refractoriness, reduced responsiveness to host cues, and induced oviposition. In Drosophila, the biological bases of post-mating behaviours have been largely studied, and male secretions transferred to the female upon copulation have been implicated to play a major role. We have recently started focusing on the identification of male factors that may induce behavioural changes in females, and on the female response itself.

These studies will not only expand the knowledge on important aspect of reproduction behaviour, but may also provide clues on how to manipulate mosquito fertility at the population level, a topic of large medical and public health relevance.

We are also involved in a series of projects aimed at developing tools for vector control methods, especially those based on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). SIT generally relies on the release over large areas of mass numbers of sterile male insects, that for Anopheles control need to be separated from females (as females even when sterile would still contribute to disease transmission). We have very recently accomplished the development of the first transgenic sexing strains for Anopheles mosquitoes, which allows for an automated separation of male from female individuals through the sperm-specific expression of an EGFP reporter gene. Moreover, the study of mosquito reproductive biology is contributing with novel tools and ideas to the induction of sterility in male and female mosquitoes.

For a list of ongoing projects please click on lab members