Fig. 1

A search for novel essential eggshell proteins in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Schematic diagram of the experimental time course for dsRNA microinjection, blood feeding, and oviposition in the first gonotrophic cycle shown in the top left corner. Target eggshell proteins were chosen from a proteomics analysis by Marinotti et al. [6]. Representative egg phenotypes associated with RNAi screening of 34 eggshell genes are shown. RNAi against AAEL000961, AAEL002196, AAEL006830, AAEL007096, AAEL008829, and AAEL010848 (as indicated by blue frames) resulted in defective eggshell phenotypes. Eggs from RNAi-firefly luciferase (Fluc) and RNAi-EOF1 (AAEL012336) are also included. Eggs deposited by ten to twenty RNAi mosquitoes for each respective eggshell protein RNAi knockdown were examined under a light microscope and photographed 2 days after oviposition. Putative functions and RNAi primers used for each gene are shown in Additional file 1: Table S1 and Additional file 2: Table S2, respectively