Sequences of globin 6 gene alleles and linkage of globin 6 and 7B genes in the insect Chironomus thummi thummi

A review on Respiratory allergy caused by insects

Hypersensitivity or allergy encompasses a wide range of immunological reactions that generally have adverse consequences involving one or many organ systems of the body. Allergens are usually glycoprotein or chemically complex low molecular weight substances. The common allergens include pollen, fungal spores, house dust mite and house dust, animal danders, drugs, foods, insect emanations, and detritus, etc. Information on the role of insects in respiratory allergy is increasing in the literature. There are about 30 million living species of insects. These insects can broadly be classified as stinging insects, biting insects and non-stinging and non-biting insects. All materials form insets namely wings, scales, saliva; dried feces and venom can cause allergic diseases, such as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma and urticaria. There are wide varieties of insects such as moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, flies, beetles, cockroaches, and mosquitoes. Exposure to emanations and detritus of these insects may lead to several allergies in some genetically predisposed individuals. Therefore, it is of interest to review allergies caused by various insect's stings and bites and their adverse effect on the human body.

An electrospray ionization mass spectrometric study of the extracellular hemoglobins from Chironomus thummi thummi

The aquatic larvae of the dipteran, Chironomus thummi thummi contain extracellular hemoglobins which exhibit stage-specific expression. We have used maximum entropy-based deconvolution of the complex, multiply charged electrospray ionization mass spectra, to demonstrate the presence of more than 20 components, ranging in mass from 14,417.3 Da to 17,356.5 Da in the 4th instar larvae. Of the 15 major peaks with intensities > 10 relative to 100 for the 14,417.3 Da-component (CTT-IV), only the 15,528.2-Da peak does not correspond to a known amino acid sequence. Since the number of C. thummi thummi globin genes now stands at 27, including one cDNA and not counting three that must encode known globins, our results suggest that only a limited number of the globin genes are expressed in the 4th instar larvae.

A variable intron distribution in globin genes of Chironomus: evidence for recent intron gain

The intron positions found in globin genes of plants, protozoa and invertebrates have been interpreted as evidence for a three-intron-four-exon structure of the ancestral globin gene. In particular, the so-called 'central' introns, which are not found in vertebrate globin genes but are present in a variety of invertebrate and plant species, have been used as an argument for an ancestral gene structure featuring three introns. We have analyzed the presence or absence of central introns in the Gb genes 2beta, 9 and 7A of various European and Australasian species of the insect Chironomus. We find unrelated central introns at different positions in some of the species investigated, while other species completely lack introns in these genes. This variable distribution of introns is parsimoniously explained by independent intron additions. Such a gain of introns may occur convergently at identical positions in unrelated taxa. Insertion by gene conversion may be a viable mechanism to explain intron gain.