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Shepherd JG. Mating, Sperm Transfer and Oviposition in Soft Ticks (Acari: Argasidae), a Review. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12040582. [PMID: 37111468 PMCID: PMC10142124 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12040582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This review addresses the physiology and behavioral events involved in the reproduction of soft ticks (family Argasidae), with special attention to the events of their adult life: mating, sperm transfer and egg-laying. Many of these aspects are held in common with hard ticks, but the repeated short duration of feeding bouts in soft ticks, in contrast to the extended single engorgements of hard ticks, has consequences peculiar to soft tick reproduction. Reviewed are the dramatic external mechanism of sperm transfer, the unusual maturation and unique morphology and motility of the spermatozoa, the mechanism of oogenesis and its hormonal control, the mystery of fertilization, the involvement of pheromones in mating, the control of reproductive arrests and the vertical transmission of symbiotes in reproduction. Jumping-off points for further investigation are discussed throughout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian G Shepherd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA
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Bednarek AW, Sawadro MK, Nicewicz Ł, Babczyńska AI. Vitellogenins in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum - expression profile and putative hormonal regulation of vitellogenesis. BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2019; 19:4. [PMID: 30849941 PMCID: PMC6408786 DOI: 10.1186/s12861-019-0184-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Knowledge about vitellogenesis in spiders is rudimentary. Therefore, the aim of study was to check the vitellogenin (Vg) presence in various tissues of the female spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum, determine when and where vitellogenesis starts and takes place, and the putative role of selected hormones in the vitellogenesis. RESULTS Here we show two genes encoding Vg (PtVg4 and PtVg6) in the genome of the spider P. tepidariorum. One gene PtVg4 and three subunits of Vg (250 kDa, 47 kDa and 30 kDa) are expressed in the midgut glands, ovaries and hemolymph. Heterosynthesis of the Vg in the midgut glands and autosynthesis in the ovaries were observed. Vitellogenesis begins in the last nymphal stage in the midgut glands (heterosynthesis). However, after sexual maturity is reached, Vg is also synthesized in the ovaries (autosynthesis). Changes in the PtVg4 expression level and in the Vg concentration after treatment with 20-hydroxyecdysone, a juvenile hormone analog (fenoxycarb) and an antijuvenoid compound (precocene I) were observed. Therefore, we propose a hypothetical model for the hormonal regulation of vitellogenesis in P. tepidariorum. CONCLUSIONS Our results are the first comprehensive study on spider vitellogenesis. In our opinion, this work will open discussion on the evolutionary context of possible similarities in the hormonal control of vitellogenesis between P. tepidariorum and other arthropods as well as their consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata W. Bednarek
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, PL40007 Katowice, Poland
| | - Marta K. Sawadro
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, PL40007 Katowice, Poland
| | - Łukasz Nicewicz
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, PL40007 Katowice, Poland
| | - Agnieszka I. Babczyńska
- Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, PL40007 Katowice, Poland
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Sawadro M, Bednarek A, Babczyńska A. The current state of knowledge on the neuroactive compounds that affect the development, mating and reproduction of spiders (Araneae) compared to insects. INVERTEBRATE NEUROSCIENCE 2017; 17:4. [DOI: 10.1007/s10158-017-0197-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Wang F, Lu X, Guo F, Gong H, Zhang H, Zhou Y, Cao J, Zhou J. The immunomodulatory protein RH36 is relating to blood-feeding success and oviposition in hard ticks. Vet Parasitol 2017; 240:49-59. [PMID: 28449954 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Revised: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
An immunomodulatory protein designated RH36 was identified in the tick Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides. The cDNA sequence of RH36 has 844bp and encodes a deduced protein with a predicted molecular weight of 24kDa. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that RH36 presented a degree of similarity of 34.36% with the immunomodulatory protein p36 from the tick Dermacentor andersoni. The recombinant RH36 (rRH36) expressed in Sf9 insect cells suppressed the T-lymphocyte mitogen-driven in vitro proliferation of splenocytes and the expression of several cytokines such as IL-2, IL-12, and TNF-α. Furthermore, the proliferation of splenocytes isolated from rRH36-inoculated mice was significantly lower than that in control mice, suggesting that rRH36 could directly suppress immune responses in vivo. In addition, microarray analysis of splenocytes indicated that the expression of several immunomodulatory genes was downregulated by rRH36. The silencing of the RH36 gene by RNAi led to a 37.5% decrease in the tick attachment rate 24h after placement into the rabbit ears, whereas vaccination with RH36 caused a 53.06% decrease in the tick engorgement rate. Unexpectedly, RNAi induced a significant decrease in the oviposition rate, ovary weight at day 12 after engorgement, and egg-hatching rate. The effects of RH36 on blood feeding and oviposition were further confirmed by vaccination tests using the recombinant protein. These results indicate that RH36 is a novel member of immunosuppressant proteins and affects tick blood feeding and oviposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangfang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiaojuan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Fengxun Guo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Haiyan Gong
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Houshuang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yongzhi Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Jie Cao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Jinlin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, China.
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Zhu J, Khalil SM, Mitchell RD, Bissinger BW, Egekwu N, Sonenshine DE, Roe RM. Mevalonate-Farnesal Biosynthesis in Ticks: Comparative Synganglion Transcriptomics and a New Perspective. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0141084. [PMID: 26959814 PMCID: PMC4785029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 10/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Juvenile hormone (JH) controls the growth, development, metamorphosis, and reproduction of insects. For many years, the general assumption has been that JH regulates tick and other acarine development and reproduction the same as in insects. Although researchers have not been able to find the common insect JHs in hard and soft tick species and JH applications appear to have no effect on tick development, it is difficult to prove the negative or to determine whether precursors to JH are made in ticks. The tick synganglion contains regions which are homologous to the corpora allata, the biosynthetic source for JH in insects. Next-gen sequencing of the tick synganglion transcriptome was conducted separately in adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the relapsing fever tick, Ornithodoros turicata as a new approach to determine whether ticks can make JH or a JH precursor. All of the enzymes that make up the mevalonate pathway from acetyl-CoA to farnesyl diphosphate (acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase, HMG-S, HMG-R, mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase, diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase, and farnesyl diphosphate synthase) were found in at least one of the ticks studied but most were found in all three species. Sequence analysis of the last enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, farnesyl diphosphate synthase, demonstrated conservation of the seven prenyltransferase regions and the aspartate rich motifs within those regions typical of this enzyme. In the JH branch from farnesyl diphosphate to JH III, we found a putative farnesol oxidase used for the conversion of farnesol to farnesal in the synganglion transcriptome of I. scapularis and D. variabilis. Methyltransferases (MTs) that add a methyl group to farnesoic acid to make methyl farnesoate were present in all of the ticks studied with similarities as high as 36% at the amino acid level to insect JH acid methyltransferase (JHAMT). However, when the tick MTs were compared to the known insect JHAMTs from several insect species at the amino acid level, the former lacked the farnesoic acid binding motif typical in insects. The P450s shown in insects to add the C10,11 epoxide to methyl farnesoate, are in the CYP15 family; this family was absent in our tick transcriptomes and in the I. scapularis genome, the only tick genome available. These data suggest that ticks do not synthesize JH III but have the mevalonate pathway and may produce a JH III precursor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiwei Zhu
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
| | - Sayed M. Khalil
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
| | - Robert D. Mitchell
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
| | - Brooke W. Bissinger
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
| | - Noble Egekwu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529, United States of America
| | - Daniel E. Sonenshine
- Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529, United States of America
| | - R. Michael Roe
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Methoprene-tolerant (Met) and Krüpple-homologue 1 (Kr-h1) are required for ovariole development and egg maturation in the brown plant hopper. Sci Rep 2015; 5:18064. [PMID: 26658174 PMCID: PMC4677288 DOI: 10.1038/srep18064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The brown plant hopper is one of the most destructive known pests of rice. We studied the roles of the JH receptor Met and the downstream transcription factor Kr-h1 in ovariole development and egg maturation. The predicted Met protein in N. lugens (NlMet) contained 517 amino acids. qRT-PCR showed that NlMet was expressed in all tissues and that the highest expression occurred in the embryonic stage. In NlMet- or NlKr-h1-silenced female adults, ovarian development varied significantly, whereas the numbers of ovarioles were less variable in those injected with dsRNA targeting NlMet, NlKrh-1 or both NlMet and NlKr-h1. In females injected with dsNlKr-h1 or with dsNlMet in combination with dsNlKr-h1 dsRNA, the preoviposition period was prolonged, whereas the females injected with NlMet dsRNA showed no significant changes. Moreover, we found no differences in the length of the preoviposition period between macropterous and brachypterous females. The disruption of Nlmet or NlKr-h1 or the dual knockdown of NlMet and NlKr-h1 significantly reduced the number of eggs laid. Moreover, significant differences were also found between the macropterous and the brachypterous brown plant hoppers. These results indicated that Met and Kr-h1 are required for ovariole development and egg maturation in the brown plant hopper.
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Daimon T, Shinoda T. Function, diversity, and application of insect juvenile hormone epoxidases (CYP15). Biotechnol Appl Biochem 2013; 60:82-91. [PMID: 23586995 DOI: 10.1002/bab.1058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2012] [Accepted: 11/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Juvenile hormones (JHs) represent a family of sesquiterpenoid hormones in insects, and they play a key role in regulating development, metamorphosis, and reproduction. The last two steps of the JH biosynthetic pathway, epoxidation and methyl esterification of farnesoic acid to JH, are insect specific, and thus have long been considered a promising target for biorational insecticides. Recently, the enzymes involved in the last two steps have been molecularly identified: JH acid methyltransferase catalyzes the esterification step and the cytochrome P450 CYP15 enzyme catalyzes the epoxidation step. In this review, we describe the recent progress on the characterization of JH biosynthetic enzymes, with special focus on the function and diversity of the CYP15 family. CYP15 genes have evolved lineage-specific substrate specificity and regulatory mechanisms in insects, which appear to be associated with the lineage-specific acquisition of unique JH structure and function. In addition, the lack of CYP15 genes in crustacean (Daphnia pulex) and arachnid (Tetranychus urticae) species, whose genomes have been fully sequenced, may imply that CYP15 enzymes are an evolutionary innovation in insects to use the epoxide forms of methylated farnesoid molecules as their principal JHs. Molecular identification and characterization of CYP15 genes from broad taxa of insects have paved the way to the design of target-specific, biorational anti-JH agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takaaki Daimon
- National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
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Roma GC, de Souza LP, Brienza PD, Furquim KCS, Bechara GH, Camargo-Mathias MI. Ecdysteroid levels changed by permethrin action in female Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks. Exp Parasitol 2012; 131:153-6. [PMID: 22483974 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2012.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2011] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 03/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
As recent studies have shown that ecdysteroids may play a major role in the regulation of vitellogenesis in Ixodidae, the present study quantified, by means of a radioimmunoassay, the levels of ecdysteroids present in the hemolymph of semi-engorged females of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks obtained from control females (exposed to distilled water) and those exposed to increasing concentrations of permethrin. The levels of ecdysteroids decreased significantly as the concentration of permethrin increased, suggesting that this compound could be an inhibitor of ecdysteroids secretion, and consequently interfering with the reproductive ability of these ticks, since this hormone is responsible for the synthesis and incorporation of vitellogenin by oocytes. This study complements the previous results with R. sanguineus semi-engorged females, showing that permethrin is a potent agent causing major morphological changes in tick oocytes, such as the appearance of large vacuoles in the cytoplasm, reduction in the amount of yolk granules and a decrease in oocyte size, thus culminating in cell death and consequently reducing or preventing reproduction in treated females. The findings that permethrin leads to a decrease in ecdysteroid titers could represent an entry step into this scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gislaine Cristina Roma
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, UNESP, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
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Ribeiro VLS, dos Santos JC, Martins JR, Schripsema J, Siqueira IR, von Poser GL, Apel MA. Acaricidal properties of the essential oil and precocene II obtained from Calea serrata (Asteraceae) on the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae). Vet Parasitol 2011; 179:195-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2010] [Revised: 02/05/2011] [Accepted: 02/07/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Efficacy of abamectin against the fowl tick, Argas (Persicargas) persicus (Oken, 1818) (Ixodoidea: Argasidae). Parasitol Res 2011; 109:1113-23. [PMID: 21547393 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-011-2354-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2010] [Accepted: 03/15/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Abamectin, in aqueous solutions of dose rates 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mL/L, was sprayed on different feeding stages of the tick Argas (P.) persicus. The results revealed a marked increase of immobile and dead male or female ticks following a single treatment with the above doses, particularly the higher ones, and during the 5 weeks after treatment. Abamectin seriously decreased the percentage of fed ticks as well as that of oviposition and hatching. A decrease in the amount of emitted coxal fluid was observed also following treatment. Although the amount of ingested blood increased following abamectin treatment, digestion remained similar. The study also revealed that spraying a dose of 0.5 mL/L of abamectin in fowl shelters, i.e., floor, walls, ceiling, etc., is sufficient to eradicate A. persicus population.
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Khalil SMS, Donohue KV, Thompson DM, Jeffers LA, Ananthapadmanaban U, Sonenshine DE, Mitchell RD, Roe RM. Full-length sequence, regulation and developmental studies of a second vitellogenin gene from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2011; 57:400-408. [PMID: 21192946 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2010] [Revised: 12/16/2010] [Accepted: 12/20/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Vitellogenin (Vg) is the precursor of vitellin (Vn) which is the major yolk protein in eggs. In a previous report, we isolated and characterized the first Vg message from the American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis. In the current study, we describe a second Vg gene from the same tick. The Vg2 cDNA is 5956 nucleotides with a 5775 nt open reading frame coding for 1925 amino acids. The conceptual amino acid translation contains a 16-residues putative signal peptide, N-terminal lipid binding domain and C-terminal von Willebrand factor type D domain present in all known Vgs. Moreover, the amino acid sequence shows a typical GLCG domain and several RXXR cleavage sites present in most isolated Vgs. Tryptic digest-mass fingerprinting of Vg and Vn recognized 11 fragments that exist in the amino acid translation of DvVg2 cDNA. Injection of virgin females with 20 hydroxyecdysone induced DvVg2 expression, vitellogenesis and oviposition. Using RT-PCR, DvVg2 expression was detected only in tick females after mating and feeding to repletion. Northern blot analysis showed that DvVg2 is expressed in fat body and gut cells of vitellogenic females but not in the ovary. DvVg2 expression was not detected in adult fed or unfed males. The characteristics that distinguish Vg from other similar tick storage proteins like the carrier protein, CP (another hemelipoglycoprotein) are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayed M S Khalil
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7647, USA
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Cabrera AR, Donohue KV, Roe RM. Regulation of female reproduction in mites: a unifying model for the Acari. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2009; 55:1079-1090. [PMID: 19698719 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2009] [Revised: 08/11/2009] [Accepted: 08/11/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
It is well established in the literature that circulating high levels of juvenile hormone (JH) are responsible for the initiation of vitellogenesis and female reproduction in most insects studied so far. Exceptions include some Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. The current view is that JH also regulates yolk protein (vitellogenin, Vg) synthesis and female reproduction in mites. However, there is no published evidence that mites have the common insect JHs at any stage of their development. Also, research on the effects of exogenous applications of JH and JH analogs on the reproduction of mites is contradictory. Significant information is available on the life history of mite reproduction, and new information has become available on mite storage proteins including Vg. Although initial studies suggested that ticks may respond to exogenously applied juvenile hormone or anti-JHs, current research shows that ticks cannot synthesize the common insect JHs and have no detectable levels of these hormones in their hemolymph during female reproduction. In ticks, it appears that ecdysteroids, and not JH, regulate expression of the Vg gene and the synthesis and release of Vg protein into the hemolymph. In fact within the Arthropoda, JH has been found only in insects. Methyl farnesoate and not JH regulates Vg synthesis in the Crustacea, the sister group to the insects. Based on this evidence, a new working hypothesis is proposed, i.e., that ecdysteroids and not the JHs regulate vitellogenesis in the Acari including both ticks and mites. To the present, the role of neuropeptides in the regulation of female reproduction in mites is not known.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana R Cabrera
- North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Cabrera AR, Donohue KV, Khalil SMS, Sonenshine DE, Roe RM. Characterization of vitellin protein in the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2009; 55:655-661. [PMID: 19394341 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2009] [Revised: 04/13/2009] [Accepted: 04/13/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
In mites, vitellogenin synthesis, regulation and uptake by the oocytes as vitellin remain practically unknown. Although a partial sequence of the gene is now available, no previous studies have been conducted that describe the native vitellin protein in mites. The objective of this study was to characterize vitellin in the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. The native twospotted spider mite vitellin migrated as a single major band with a molecular weight of 476+/-14.5 kDa as compared to 590+/-25.5 kDa for vitellin from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. However, isoelectric focusing analysis of native spider mite vitellin showed five bands with pI values slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.8, 6.2, 6.7, 7.0 and 7.2), as is the case for insect and tick vitellins. Reducing conditions (SDS-PAGE) also revealed multiple subunits ranging from 290.9 to 3.6 kDa and was similar to that found in D. variabilis. Spider mite vitellin weakly bound lipids and carbohydrates compared to the tick. Unlike D. variabilis, the spider mite egg yolk protein does not bind heme. The significance of non-heme binding in mites is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana R Cabrera
- North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7613, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Seixas A, Friesen KJ, Kaufman WR. Effect of 20-hydroxyecdysone and haemolymph on oogenesis in the ixodid tick Amblyomma hebraeum. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2008; 54:1175-1183. [PMID: 18634796 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2008.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2008] [Revised: 05/14/2008] [Accepted: 05/20/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Earlier work from our laboratory indicated that injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) into non-vitellogenic female Amblyomma hebraeum ticks stimulates the synthesis of vitellogenin (Vg), but not its uptake into oocytes [Friesen, K., Kaufman, W.R., 2004. Effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone and other hormones on egg development, and identification of a vitellin-binding protein in the ovary of the tick, Amblyomma hebraeum. Journal of Insect Physiology 50, 519-529]. In contrast, Thompson et al. [Thompson, D.M., Khalil, S.M.S., Jeffers, L.A., Ananthapadmanaban, U., Sonenshine, D.E., Mitchell, R.D., Osgood, C.J., Apperson, C.S., Roe, M.R., 2005. In vivo role of 20-hydroxyecdysone in the regulation of the vitellogenin mRNA and egg development in the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say). Journal of Insect Physiology 51, 1105-1116] demonstrated that injection of 20E into virgin female Dermacentor variabilis ticks stimulated both vitellogenesis and Vg uptake into oocytes. In addition to the species difference in the two studies there were substantially different methods for injecting 20E. In our earlier work we injected small partially fed ticks after removing them from the host. Thompson et al. injected the females while they remained attached to the host. So in this study we repeated our earlier experiments on A. hebraeum using on-host injection. We also injected 20E into off-host ticks with or without haemolymph collected from engorged ticks (days 2-10 post-engorgement), or from large partially fed mated ticks in the rapid phase of engorgement, to see whether we might detect a 'vitellogenin uptake factor' (VUF) in haemolymph. Off-host injection of 20E (0.45microg/g body weight (bw)) did not induce ovary development beyond that of vehicle-injected controls. But ticks in this study, receiving 20E plus haemolymph from engorged ticks, showed a significant increase in ovary weight beyond that of 20E alone (1.31+/-0.05% bw; 34 for 20E plus haemolymph and 1.03+/-0.05% bw; 25 for 20E alone). However, in normal engorged A. hebraeum, the ovary exceeds 7% bw at the onset of oviposition. As in our earlier work, in this study 20E stimulated Vg-synthesis (3.9+/-0.5mgVt-equivalents/ml) beyond that occurring in vehicle-injected ticks (0.76+/-0.14mgVt-equivalents/ml), and there was a further increase in ticks injected with 20E plus haemolymph from engorged ticks (8.9+/-1.0mgVt-equivalents/ml). On-host injection of 20E alone (6microg20E/g bw) did not produce a statistically significant increase in oocyte length over that of vehicle-injected controls, whereas on-host injection of 20E plus engorged haemolymph resulted in significantly larger oocytes (261+/-57microm) compared to vehicle-injected controls (132+/-11microm), compared to 20E alone (131+/-12microm), or haemolymph alone (124+/-24microm). There was a marked stimulation of Vg-synthesis by 31microg20E/g bw (6.0+/-1.5mgVt-equivalents/ml) compared to vehicle-injected controls (1.02+/-33mgVt-equivalents/ml). Vt accumulation by ovaries was significantly greater in ticks treated with haemolymph (12+/-3microgVt/mg ovary) or 20E plus haemolymph (56+/-26microgVt/mg ovary) compared to vehicle-injected controls (5.1+/-1.5microgVt/mg ovary). There was also a significant effect of 6microg20E/g bw plus engorged haemolymph on ovary weight (1.74+/-0.29% bw) compared to vehicle-injected ticks (0.95+/-0.10% bw), but not compared to ticks injected with 20E alone (1.25+/-0.19% bw). We conclude that at least some of the differences observed between the two laboratories relate to the species difference, and that there is some evidence that the engorged haemolymph of A. hebraeum contains a VUF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Seixas
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91501-970, Brazil
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Ribeiro VLS, Avancini C, Gonçalves K, Toigo E, von Poser G. Acaricidal activity of Calea serrata (Asteraceae) on Boophilus microplus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Vet Parasitol 2008; 151:351-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2007] [Revised: 10/16/2007] [Accepted: 11/08/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Ribeiro VLS, Toigo E, Bordignon SAL, Gonçalves K, von Poser G. Acaricidal properties of extracts from the aerial parts of Hypericum polyanthemum on the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. Vet Parasitol 2007; 147:199-203. [PMID: 17475407 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2007] [Revised: 03/23/2007] [Accepted: 03/24/2007] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Laboratory tests were carried out on larvae and adults of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus to determine the toxicity of n-hexane and crude methanolic extracts of Hypericum polyanthemum (Guttiferae) using the larval immersion test (LIT) and adult immersion test (AIT). In the AIT, the effectiveness of treatment against engorged females was assessed by measuring egg production: the n-hexane extract was found to have a small effect on the egg laying at the highest concentration (19.2% of egg-laying inhibition) whilst the crude methanolic extract did not affect the egg production. For the LIT the n-hexane extracts were highly toxic to the larvae at all the concentrations (100% of mortality). The crude methanolic extract was also toxic to the larvae at higher concentrations killing 100, 96.7, 84.7 and 52.7% at the concentrations of 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25 mg/ml, respectively, 48 h after the immersion of the acarus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Lucia Sardá Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Entomologia, Faculdade de Veterinária, UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9090, 91540-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
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17
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Ogihara K, Horigane M, Nakajima Y, Moribayashi A, Taylor D. Ecdysteroid hormone titer and its relationship to vitellogenesis in the soft tick, Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2007; 150:371-80. [PMID: 17166496 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2006.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2006] [Revised: 09/17/2006] [Accepted: 09/25/2006] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
A blood meal is required for reproduction in most argasid female ticks. The blood meal appears to stimulate an organ in the posterior end to produce a fat body stimulating factor (FSF), which is thought to be an ecdysteroid, to induce vitellogenin (Vg) synthesis. In this study, the relationship of vitellogenesis and ecdysteroids was investigated by measuring Vg and ecdysteroid titers while observing oocyte development and oviposition in mated and virgin females. Oviposition occurred from day 10 after engorgement in mated females and continued up to 40-50 days, whereas egg maturation and oviposition did not occur in virgin females. Vg titers in the hemolymph peaked on day 6 after engorgement and subsequently declined in mated females. Interestingly, Vg synthesis occurred and ovarian development progressed to the development of early vitellogenic oocytes in virgin females but oocyte maturation and oviposition did not occur. Topical application of ecdysteroids induced oviposition in fed virgin females indicating that ecdysteroids may induce oviposition. Concentrations of ecdysteroids for 20 days after engorgement revealed several peaks in mated female whole body extracts, but no peaks in virgin female extracts. In the hemolymph of only mated females, ecdysteroid titers showed two peaks that followed the early peak of ecdysteroids in the whole body on day 4 and 6 after engorgement. In addition, ecdysteroids in the reproductive tissues increased with the development of the ovary in mated females and this increase coincided with the latter peaks of the whole body. These observations indicate that physiological elevation of ecdysteroids accelerate Vg synthesis, and may induce egg maturation and stimulate oviposition in fed mated Ornithodoros moubata females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazumasa Ogihara
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
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Thompson DM, Khalil SMS, Jeffers LA, Ananthapadmanaban U, Sonenshine DE, Mitchell RD, Osgood CJ, Apperson CS, Michael Roe R. In vivo role of 20-hydroxyecdysone in the regulation of the vitellogenin mRNA and egg development in the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2005; 51:1105-16. [PMID: 16061249 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2005.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2005] [Revised: 05/19/2005] [Accepted: 06/02/2005] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Injection of the hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) into partially fed (virgin) female adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, while they are attached and feeding on the rabbit host, initiated the expression of the vitellogenin (Vg) gene, and Vg protein secretion and uptake by the ovary. The induction of egg production by 20-E in this bioassay was dose dependent in the range of 1-50 times the concentration normally found in a replete, vitellogenic female. Ticks examined 4 d after the 50 x treatment were still attached to the host, had numerous enlarged vitellin-filled (brown) oocytes in their ovaries, but had not engorged to repletion. The ovaries reached weights similar to those found in untreated, replete (mated) females (pre-oviposition) while solvent-injected controls demonstrated no increase in oocyte size or increase in ovary weight. An increase in the levels of a putative Vg protein was observed in hemolymph samples collected 1, 2 and 3d post-20-E injection but was not observed in the corresponding solvent controls as determined by native PAGE. Analysis of the ecdysteroid-induced protein by tryptic digestion-mass fingerprinting and BLASTP found that the putative Vg had the strongest match to GP80 (U49934), the partial sequence for the vitellogenin protein from Boophilus microplus. A partial Vg cDNA was cloned and sequenced from replete females of D. variabilis with a high similarity to GP80. Using this message as a probe, Northern blots conducted with RNA collected from partially fed, virgin females 1, 2 and 3d post-20-E injection showed upregulation of the Vg mRNA on all 3 days. Controls injected with solvent only showed no Vg mRNA. Injections with juvenile hormone III did not stimulate Vg expression, oocyte growth or full engorgement. These studies indicate that ecdysteroids and not JH can initiate expression of the Vg gene, Vg protein synthesis and release into hemolymph, and Vg uptake into developing oocytes under bioassay conditions mimicking normal feeding on the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah M Thompson
- Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7647, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7647, USA
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19
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Abstract
Ecdysteroids (moulting hormones), juvenoids and neuropeptides in ticks are reviewed but, by far, the emphasis is on the former since this class of hormones has been the subject of most investigations. In immature stages of ticks, ecdysteroids have been shown to regulate moulting and to terminate larval diapause. Although there is a paucity of information on the molecular action of ecdysteroids in ticks, their action appears to be via a heterodimeric ecdysone/ultraspiracle receptor, as in insects. The role of ecdysteroids in sperm maturation in adult males is considered. In females, ecdysteroids function in the regulation of salivary glands, of production of sex pheromones and of oogenesis and oviposition. There is evidence for ecdysteroid production in the integument and pathways of hormone inactivation are similar to those in insects. Ecdysteroids also function in embryogenesis. Although evidence for the occurrence and functioning of juvenile hormones in ticks has been contradictory, in recent thorough work it has not been possible to detect known juvenile hormones in ticks, nor to demonstrate effects of extracts on insects. Factors (neuropeptides) from the synganglion affect physiological processes and limited immunocytochemical studies are reviewed. Sigificantly, a G-protein-coupled receptor has been cloned, expressed, and specifically responds to myokinins.
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Affiliation(s)
- H H Rees
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.
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Friesen KJ, Kaufman WR. Effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone and other hormones on egg development, and identification of a vitellin-binding protein in the ovary of the tick, Amblyomma hebraeum. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2004; 50:519-529. [PMID: 15183281 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2004.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2003] [Revised: 03/16/2004] [Accepted: 03/18/2004] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Partially fed adult female Amblyomma hebraeum ticks were injected with 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E; up to 43 microg/g body weight (bw)), juvenile hormone III (JH III; up to 100 microg/g bw), bovine insulin (up to 2000 mU/g bw), or triiodothyronine (up to 200 ng/g bw) in an attempt to stimulate vitellogenesis. Of these, only 20E stimulated synthesis and release of vitellogenin (Vg). Immunoblot analysis revealed that Vg-synthesis occurred in the fat body. However, consistent with earlier observations suggesting that a distinct signal may be required for Vg-uptake, there was no significant Vg-uptake by oocytes of partially fed, 20E-treated ticks. Because Vg-uptake commonly occurs via receptor-mediated endocytosis (i.e., a specific Vg-receptor), we attempted to identify a vitellin (Vt)-binding protein in ovaries of engorged female ticks. A single 86 kDa Vt-binding protein was identified, even under reducing conditions (2-mercaptoethanol), by a ligand-blotting technique. Sodium salt of suramin (5 mM) inhibited binding of Vt to the 86 kDa protein. However, this protein was also detected in ovaries from small partially fed ticks (50-100 mg), suggesting that the inability of 20E to stimulate Vg-uptake in partially fed ticks may not have been due to the absence of a Vg-receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Friesen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2E9
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21
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Friesen KJ, Reuben Kaufman W. Quantification of vitellogenesis and its control by 20-hydroxyecdysone in the ixodid tick, Amblyomma hebraeum. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2002; 48:773-782. [PMID: 12770055 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-1910(02)00107-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Ovaries of the ixodid tick, Amblyomma hebraeum Koch, grew rapidly after engorgment as a result of yolk uptake. At 26 degrees C, oviposition began by day 10 post-engorgement, plateaued on days 16-18, and ended by day 38. Vitellin (Vt) was partially purified from ovaries of day 10 engorged ticks by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. This Vt comprises seven major and several minor polypeptides. Two polypeptides (211 and 148 kD) from haemolymph of engorged female ticks corresponded to minor polypeptides of similar molecular weight in the ovary. The haemolymph titre of the 211 and 148 kD polypeptides increased up to the onset of oviposition. These polypeptides were absent in males and non-vitellogenic females (day 0 engorged or day 10 partially-fed females), and were thus designated as vitellogenin (Vg). Antibodies raised against haemolymph Vg211 and 148 recognized these polypeptides in partially purified Vt, as well as six of the seven major polypeptides. Using these antibodies we developed an indirect, competitive ELISA to quantify Vg. Rise in haemolymph Vg-concentration lagged slightly behind the rise in haemolymph ecdysteroid (ES)-concentration, and Vg-synthesis was stimulated by injections of 20E into non-vitellogenic females. These observations indicate that an ES is the vitellogenic hormone in A. hebraeum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J. Friesen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Edmonton, Canada
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22
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Neese PA, E Sonenshine D, Kallapur VL, Apperson CS, Roe RM. Absence of insect juvenile hormones in the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari:Ixodidae), and in Ornithodoros parkeri Cooley (Acari:Argasidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2000; 46:477-490. [PMID: 12770212 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-1910(99)00134-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Synganglia, salivary gland, midgut, ovary, fat body and muscle alone and in combination from the ixodid tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), or the argasid tick, Ornithodoros parkeri Cooley, were incubated in vitro in separate experiments with L-[methyl-(3)H]methionine and farnesoic acid or with [1-(14)C]acetate. Life stages examined in D. variabilis were 3 and 72 h old (after ecdysis) unfed nymphs, partially fed nymphs (18 and 72 h after attachment to the host), fully engorged nymphs (2 d after detachment from host), 3 and 72 h old (after eclosion) unfed females, partially fed unmated females (12-168 h after attachment to host) and mated replete females (2 d after detachment from the host). Those from O. parkeri were third and fourth stadium nymphs and female O. parkeri, 1-2 d after detachment. Corpora allata from Diploptera punctata, Periplaneta americana and Gromphadorina portentosa were used as positive controls in these experiments. No farnesol, methyl farnesoate, JH I, JH II, JH III, or JHIII bisepoxide was detected by radio HPLC from any tick analysis while JH III, methyl farnesoate, and farnesol were detected in the positive controls. To examine further for the presence of a tick, insect-juvenilizing agent, Galleria pupal-cuticle bioassays were conducted on lipid extracts from 10 and 15 d old eggs, unfed larvae (1-5 d after ecdysis), unfed nymphs (1-7 d after ecdysis), and partially fed, unmated female adults (completed slow feeding phase) of D. variabilis. Whole body extracts of fourth stadium D. punctata and JH III standard were used as positive controls. No juvenilizing activity in any of the tick extracts could be detected. Electron impact, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of hemolymph extracts from fed, virgin (forcibly detached 7 d after attachment) and mated, replete (allowed to drop naturally) D. variabilis and fully engorged (1-2 d after detachment) O. parkeri females also failed to identify the common insect juvenile hormones. The same procedures were successful in the identification of JH III in hemolymph of fourth stadium D. punctata. Last stadium nymphal (female) O. parkeri implanted with synganglia from second nymphal instars underwent normal eclosion to the adult. The above studies in toto suggest that D. variabilis and O. parkeri do not have the ability to make the common insect juvenile hormones, and these juvenile hormones do not regulate tick metamorphosis or reproduction as hypothesized in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A. Neese
- Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7647, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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23
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Sankhon N, Lockey T, Rosell RC, Rothschild M, Coons L. Effect of methoprene and 20-hydroxyecdysone on vitellogenin production in cultured fat bodies and backless explants from unfed female Dermacentor variabilis. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 1999; 45:755-761. [PMID: 12770306 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-1910(99)00054-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The effect of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE) and the juvenile hormone analogue methoprene (JHA) on vitellogenin (Vg) production in fat body organ cultures and backless explants of unfed female Dermacentor variabilis was measured. An indirect double antibody enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using a monoclonal antibody that recognized a 98 kDa subunit of Vg and a Vg specific polyclonal antibody made against vitellin (Vn). Peak Vg titers in culture medium from fat body cultures treated with 0.1 &mgr;M 20HE or 1 &mgr;M 20HE were 24 ng/ml and 20 ng/ml respectively. In culture medium from backless explants treated with 0.1 &mgr;M 20HE or 1 &mgr;M 20HE, peak Vg titers were 36 ng/ml and 26 ng/ml, respectively. JHA produced only a slight increase in Vg titers that was statistically different from Vg titers produced by 20HE but was not statistically different from hormone-free controls. These results support the conclusion that Vg production in fat body trophocytes of D. variabilis is regulated by 20HE.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Sankhon
- Science and Mathematics Division, Rust College, Holly Springs, USA
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24
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Guo X, Xu Q, Harmon MA, Jin X, Laudet V, Mangelsdorf DJ, Palmer MJ. Isolation of two functional retinoid X receptor subtypes from the Ixodid tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.). Mol Cell Endocrinol 1998; 139:45-60. [PMID: 9705073 DOI: 10.1016/s0303-7207(98)00073-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Retinoid X receptors (RXR) play a central role in a variety of nuclear signaling pathways in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrate RXRs are encoded by a multigene family whereas the insect RXR homologue, ultraspiracle (USP), is encoded by a single gene. To determine if acarines possess an RXR homologue similar to insect USPs, we isolated cDNAs encoding two distinct RXR genes, AamRXR1 and AamRXR2, from the ixodid tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.). The DNA binding domains share 95 and 87% identity, respectively, with DNA binding domains from insect USP and vertebrate RXR proteins. However, the ligand binding domains of the AamRXRs are more similar to vertebrate RXRs than to insect USP ligand binding domains (approximately 71 vs approximately 52%). Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis reveal both unique and overlapping patterns of AamRXR1 and AamRXR2 expression. Transactivation analysis show that both AamRXRs encode proteins which can form functional ecdysteroid receptors but are unlikely to bind retinoic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Guo
- Department of Entomology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078, USA
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25
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James AM, Oliver JH. Vitellogenin concentrations in the haemolymph and ovaries of Ixodes scapularis ticks during vitellogenesis. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 1996; 20:639-647. [PMID: 9022267 DOI: 10.1007/bf00053327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The vitellogenin and vitellin concentrations in the haemolymph and ovaries of Ixodes scapularis females were determined using a double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The level of vitellogenin in the haemolymph began to increase just prior to tick detachment from the host and continued to increase until 2 days after detachment. There was a slight decrease in the vitellogenin level 4 days after detachment, but a second peak was observed approximately 5 days after oviposition. Subsequent to oviposition, the vitellogenin levels in the haemolymph quickly decreased. The concentration of vitellogenin in the haemolymph ranged from 1.55 to 11.48 micrograms microliters-1 during the period after dropping from the host through oviposition. The concentration of vitellin in the ovaries began to increase as the female began rapid engorgement (0.03 mg per female) and declined after oviposition (0.1 mg per female).
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Affiliation(s)
- A M James
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DVBID, Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA
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26
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Sauer JR, McSwain JL, Essenberg RC. Cell membrane receptors and regulation of cell function in ticks and blood-sucking insects. Int J Parasitol 1994; 24:33-52. [PMID: 8021107 DOI: 10.1016/0020-7519(94)90057-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Immunoglobulins cross the midgut epithelium and enter the haemolymph of many blood-feeding arthropods without losing their immunological properties. Antigens essential to the survival of the blood-sucking arthropods which may be affected by the small amounts of specific antibody that cross the gut epithelium include membrane receptors or other factors which regulate cell function. Membrane receptors implicated in transmembrane signalling in response to specific neural and endocrine factors fall into three major classes: (1) gated ion channels, (2) agonist-stimulated tyrosine kinases and (3) receptors that interact with GTP-binding (G) proteins. Examples of all three types have been found in insects and ticks. A dopamine receptor interacts with a G-protein essential for controlling fluid secretion by the salivary glands of ixodid ticks. Another receptor in the ixodid tick salivary gland binds a neuropeptide from the tick synganglion and stimulates turnover of plasma membrane phosphoinositides, but its mechanisms of transmembrane signalling and function remain elusive. Another large class of membrane receptors are those concerned with endocytosis. Examples of receptor-mediated endocytosis include incorporation of vitellogenin by developing oocytes in mosquitoes and ticks and uptake of lysed blood-meal components by digest cells of the tick gut. Many cell membrane receptors and possibly hormones could serve as targets for vaccines in blood-feeding insects and ticks. The major challenge is to identify and characterize essential internal receptors and cellular components that are accessible to and affected by specific antibodies that are introduced into the body of blood-feeding arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Sauer
- Department of Entomology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater 74078
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28
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LUNKE MARTINED, KAUFMAN WREUBEN. Hormonal control of ovarian development in the tickAmblyomma hebraeumKoch (Acari: Ixodidae). INVERTEBR REPROD DEV 1993. [DOI: 10.1080/07924259.1993.9672290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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29
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Rosell R, Coons LB. Purification and partial characterization of vitellin from the eggs of the hard tick, Dermacentor variabilis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1016/0020-1790(91)90094-u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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30
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Vitellogenin synthesis, processing and hormonal regulation in the tick, Ornithodoros parkeri (Acari:Argasidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1016/0020-1790(91)90113-s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Rosenkranz P, Rachinsky A, Strambi A, Strambi C, Röpstorf P. Juvenile hormone titer in capped worker brood of Apis mellifera and reproduction in the bee mite Varroa jacobsoni. Gen Comp Endocrinol 1990; 78:189-93. [PMID: 2354762 DOI: 10.1016/0016-6480(90)90005-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Juvenile hormone (JH) titers were recorded from fifth instar worker larvae of Apis mellifera carnica, Apis mellifera lamarckii, and Africanized honeybees kept under temperate and tropical climatic conditions. No differences in hormone titer according to honeybee race or climatic conditions were determined. However, the rate of reproduction of the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa jacobsoni, on larvae of the different honeybee races was highly variable. The possible role of honeybee JH in control of the parasite's reproduction is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Rosenkranz
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Tübingen, Germany
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CHINZEI YASUO, ITOH KUNIO, ANDO KATSUHIKO. Cypermethrin induction of vitellogenesis and ovarian development in unfed adult femaleOrnithodoros moubata(Acari: Argasidae). INVERTEBR REPROD DEV 1989. [DOI: 10.1080/07924259.1989.9672017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Fat body is the site of vitellogenin synthesis in the soft tick,Ornithodoros moubata. J Comp Physiol B 1985. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00694580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Connat JL, Ducommun J, Diehl PA. Juvenile hormone-like substances can induce vitellogenesis in the tickOrnithodoros moubata(Acarina: Argasidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1983. [DOI: 10.1080/01651269.1983.10510054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Purification and properties of vitellogenin and vitellin from a tick,Ornithodoros moubata. J Comp Physiol B 1983. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00689722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Pound JM, Oliver JH. Synganglial and neurosecretory morphology of femaleOrnithodoros parkeri (cooley) (acari: Argasidae). J Morphol 1982; 173:159-177. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.1051730204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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