Figure 3.

Functional annotations and expression profiles of Aedes aegypti genes associated with eggshell formation. Expression profiles are derived from qRT-PCR (this publication), microarray [25] and RNAseq data [26]. A) Schematic representation of the sequential expression of genes belonging to distinct functional categories: VMPs, vitelline membrane proteins; CBPs, chitin binding proteins/chitinases; OBP, odorant binding proteins; CRP, cysteine-rich proteins. Panels B, C, D, E and F display lists of annotations and expression profiles for VMPs, CBPs, OBPs, CRPs and enzymes involved in eggshell formation. Selected genes (underlined) had their spatial and temporal expression profiles validated by hybridization in situ (indicated by Δ; Figure 2) or quantitative RT-PCR (indicated by ●; Additional file 5). Expression values indicated by ‘++’ and ‘+’ refer to higher and lower relative abundance, respectively, with blanks representing negligible or undetectable levels.