Data from: Evolution of sexual traits influencing vectorial capacity in anopheline mosquitoes

The availability of genome sequences from 16 anopheline species provides
unprecedented opportunities to study the evolution of reproductive traits
relevant for malaria transmission. In Anopheles gambiae, a likely
candidate for sexual selection is male 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Sexual
transfer of this steroid hormone as part of a mating plug dramatically
changes female physiological processes intimately tied to vectorial
capacity. By combining phenotypic studies with ancestral state
reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses, we show that mating plug
transfer and male 20E synthesis are both derived characters that have
coevolved in anophelines, driving the adaptation of a female
20E-interacting protein that promotes oogenesis via mechanisms also
favoring Plasmodium survival. Our data reveal coevolutionary dynamics of
reproductive traits between the sexes likely to have shaped the ability of
anophelines to transmit malaria.