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Abstract
Ecdysteroidogenesis, ecdysteroid titer of hemolymph and yolk deposition over the course of a gonotrophic cycle are quantified for the first time for female Anopheles gambiae. The trend of ecdysteroid secretion roughly matched that of Aedes aegypti. A cDNA sequence for an ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone (AgamOEH) in Anopheles gambiae was also characterized. This peptide also showed similarity to the Ae. aegypti OEH in amino acid sequence. The distribution of the AgamOEH transcript and peptide are also described for An. gambiae at different life stages and during a gonotrophic cycle. We partially purified a putative OEH peptide from 20,800 adult An. gambiae heads with multiple HPLC runs. Finally, we were unable to prove bioactivity of the purified peptide but were able to demonstrate the ability of bovine insulin to activate oocyte development in vivo.