Trehalose Transport as a Male-Specific Axis of Mosquito Energy Metabolism and Reproductive Fitness

Anopheles stephensi is a major urban malaria vector whose expanding range intensifies the need for complementary control tools. While females have been the primary focus of studies on energy metabolism due to their role in blood feeding and parasite transmission, male biology is equally relevant to strategies that exploit reproductive fitness, such as sterile insect technology (SIT) and incompatible insect technology (IIT). Yet male energetics shaped by exclusive dependence on sugar feeding remain inadequately defined, particularly in the context of reproductive performance, which is central to the mosquito population dynamics. Here, we investigated trehalose metabolism in male Anopheles stephensi using survival assays, stage-resolved gene expression profiling, and RNAi-mediated knockdown. Trehalose feeding reduced male longevity by more than half relative to sucrose, whereas females showed smaller shifts from their respective baseline. Expression of the trehalose transporter ( AsTRET ) varied across swarm stages in fat body and midgut, and trehalase displayed stage-linked modulation. While silencing altered circulating trehalose levels and reduced mating-associated egg output. These findings identify trehalose transport and utilization as a key component of male reproductive physiology and highlight carbohydrate homeostasis as a potential target for male-focused vector control strategies.