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Barr JS, Martin LE, Tate AT, Hillyer JF. Warmer environmental temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, decreasing longevity and worsening infection outcomes. Immun Ageing 2024; 21:61. [PMID: 39261928 DOI: 10.1186/s12979-024-00465-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most insects are poikilotherms and ectotherms, so their body temperature is predicated by environmental temperature. With climate change, insect body temperature is rising, which affects how insects develop, survive, and respond to infection. Aging also affects insect physiology by deteriorating body condition and weakening immune proficiency via senescence. Aging is usually considered in terms of time, or chronological age, but it can also be conceptualized in terms of body function, or physiological age. We hypothesized that warmer temperature decouples chronological and physiological age in insects by accelerating senescence. To investigate this, we reared the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, at 27 °C, 30 °C and 32 °C, and measured survival starting at 1-, 5-, 10- and 15-days of adulthood after no manipulation, injury, or a hemocoelic infection with Escherichia coli or Micrococcus luteus. Then, we measured the intensity of an E. coli infection to determine how the interaction between environmental temperature and aging shapes a mosquito's response to infection. RESULTS We demonstrate that longevity declines when a mosquito is infected with bacteria, mosquitoes have shorter lifespans when the temperature is warmer, older mosquitoes are more likely to die, and warmer temperature marginally accelerates the aging-dependent decline in survival. Furthermore, we discovered that E. coli infection intensity increases when the temperature is warmer and with aging, and that warmer temperature accelerates the aging-dependent increase in infection intensity. Finally, we uncovered that warmer temperature affects both bacterial and mosquito physiology. CONCLUSIONS Warmer environmental temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, negatively affecting both longevity and infection outcomes. These findings have implications for how insects will serve as pollinators, agricultural pests, and disease vectors in our warming world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordyn S Barr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Lindsay E Martin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ann T Tate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Julián F Hillyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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2
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Morejon B, Michel K. The expanded immunoregulatory protease network in mosquitoes is governed by gene co-expression. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.18.599423. [PMID: 38948760 PMCID: PMC11212970 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.18.599423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Serine protease cascades regulate key innate immune responses. In mosquitoes, these cascades involve clip-domain serine proteases and their non-catalytic homologs (CLIPs), forming a complex network whose make-up and structural organization is not fully understood. This study assessed the impact of 85 CLIPs on humoral immunity in Anopheles gambiae. By coupling RNAi with assays measuring antimicrobial activity and melanization, we identified 27 CLIPs as immunoregulators that together form two distinct subnetworks. CLIPs regulating antimicrobial activity were found to control infection resistance, as knockdowns reduced bacterial load and improved survival. Furthermore, our analysis of CLIP gene expression unveiled a novel immunoregulatory mechanism reliant on protease baseline co-expression rather than infection-induced upregulation. These findings underscore that despite its complexity mosquito immune regulation may be targeted for malaria interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Morejon
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University; Manhattan, KS, 66502, USA
| | - Kristin Michel
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University; Manhattan, KS, 66502, USA
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3
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Yan R, Chen P, Xu Z, Qian J, Zhu G, Jin Y, Chen B, Chen M. A potential link between aromatics-induced oviposition repellency behaviors and specific odorant receptor of Aedes albopictus. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2024; 80:3603-3611. [PMID: 38458148 DOI: 10.1002/ps.8064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is a competent vector for the spread of several viral arboviruses including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. Several vital mosquito behaviors linked to survival and reproduction are primarily dependent on a sophisticated olfactory system for semiochemical perception. However, a limited number of studies has hampered our understanding of the relationship between the A. albopictus acute olfactory system and the complex chemical world. RESULTS Here, we performed a qRT-PCR assay on antennae from A. albopictus of differing sex, age and physiological states, and found that AalbOr10 was enriched in blood-fed female mosquitoes. We then undertook single sensillum recording to de-orphan AalbOr10 using a panel of physiologically and behaviorally relevant odorants in a Drosophila 'empty neuron' system. The results indicated that AalbOr10 was activated by seven aromatic compounds, all of which hampered egg-laying in blood-fed mosquitoes. Furthermore, using a post-RNA interference oviposition assay, we found that reducing the transcript level of AalbOr10 affected repellent activity mediated by 2-ethylphenol at low concentrations (10-4 vol/vol). Computational modeling and molecular docking studies suggested that hydrogen bonds to Y68 and Y150 mediated the interaction of 2-ethylphenol with AalbOr10. CONCLUSION We reveal a potential link between aromatics-induced oviposition repellency behaviors and a specific odorant receptor in A. albopictus. Our findings provide a foundation for identifying active semiochemicals for the monitoring or controlling of mosquito populations. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ru Yan
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Peitong Chen
- Institute of Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhanyi Xu
- Institute of Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiali Qian
- Institute of Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Guonian Zhu
- Institute of Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yongfeng Jin
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bosheng Chen
- The Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Mengli Chen
- The Key Laboratory for Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products of Zhejiang Province, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
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4
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Patel NF, Letinić BD, Lobb L, Zawada J, Dlamini DM, Mabaso N, Munhenga G, Oliver SV. Comparison of the effect of bacterial stimulation on the global epigenetic landscape and transcription of immune genes in primarily zoophilic members of the Anopheles gambiae complex (Diptera: Culicidae). Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 260:111631. [PMID: 38844266 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Members of the Anopheles gambiae complex vary in their vector competence, and this is often attributed to behavioural differences. Similarly, there are differences in transmission capabilities of the zoophilic members of this complex despite exhibiting similar behaviours. Therefore, behavioural differences alone cannot fully explain vector competence variation within members of the An. gambiae complex. The immune system of mosquitoes plays a key role in determining susceptibility to parasite infection and consequently transmission capacity. This study aimed to examine variations in the immune response of An. arabiensis, An. merus and An. quadriannulatus, a major, minor, and non-vector respectively. The global epigenetic landscape was characterised and the expression of Defensin-1 and Gambicin was assessed in response to Gram-positive (Streptococcus pyogenes) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial infections. The effect of insecticide resistance in An. arabiensis on these aspects was also assessed. The immune system was stimulated by a blood-borne bacterial supplementation. The 5mC, 5hmC, m6A methylation levels and Histone Acetyl Transferase activity were assessed with commercial ELISA kits. The transcript levels of Defensin-1 and Gambicin were assessed by quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Species-specific differences in 5mC and m6A methylation existed both constitutively as well as post immune stimulation. The epigenetic patterns observed in the laboratory strains were largely conserved in F1 offspring of wild-caught adults. The methylation patterns in the major vector typically differed from that of the minor/non-vectors. The differences between insecticide susceptible and resistant An. arabiensis were more reflected in the expression of Defensin-1 and Gambicin. The expression of these peptides differed in the strains only after bacterial stimulation. Anopheles merus and An. quadriannulatus expressed significantly higher levels of antimicrobial peptides, both constitutively and after immune stimulation. These findings suggest molecular variations in the immune response of members of the An. gambiae complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nashrin F Patel
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Blaženka D Letinić
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Leanne Lobb
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Clinical HIV Research Unit, Wits Health Consortium, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Jacek Zawada
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Dumsani M Dlamini
- Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Nondumiso Mabaso
- Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Givemore Munhenga
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Shüné V Oliver
- Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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5
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Alvarenga PH, Alves E Silva TL, Suzuki M, Nardone G, Cecilio P, Vega-Rodriguez J, Ribeiro JMC, Andersen JF. Comprehensive Proteomics Analysis of the Hemolymph Composition of Sugar-Fed Aedes aegypti Female and Male Mosquitoes. J Proteome Res 2024; 23:1471-1487. [PMID: 38576391 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.3c00918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
In arthropods, hemolymph carries immune cells and solubilizes and transports nutrients, hormones, and other molecules that are involved in diverse physiological processes including immunity, metabolism, and reproduction. However, despite such physiological importance, little is known about its composition. We applied mass spectrometry-based label-free quantification approaches to study the proteome of hemolymph perfused from sugar-fed female and male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. A total of 1403 proteins were identified, out of which 447 of them were predicted to be extracellular. In both sexes, almost half of these extracellular proteins were predicted to be involved in defense/immune response, and their relative abundances (based on their intensity-based absolute quantification, iBAQ) were 37.9 and 33.2%, respectively. Interestingly, among them, 102 serine proteases/serine protease-homologues were identified, with almost half of them containing CLIP regulatory domains. Moreover, proteins belonging to families classically described as chemoreceptors, such as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs), were also highly abundant in the hemolymph of both sexes. Our data provide a comprehensive catalogue of A. aegypti hemolymph basal protein content, revealing numerous unexplored targets for future research on mosquito physiology and disease transmission. It also provides a reference for future studies on the effect of blood meal and infection on hemolymph composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia H Alvarenga
- Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Thiago Luiz Alves E Silva
- Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Motoshi Suzuki
- Protein and Chemistry Section, Research Technologies Branch, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Glenn Nardone
- Protein and Chemistry Section, Research Technologies Branch, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Pedro Cecilio
- Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Joel Vega-Rodriguez
- Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - Jose M C Ribeiro
- Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
| | - John F Andersen
- Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH-NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States
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6
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Thambi PJ, Modahl CM, Kini RM. Niemann-Pick Type C2 Proteins in Aedes aegypti: Molecular Modelling and Prediction of Their Structure-Function Relationships. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1684. [PMID: 38338961 PMCID: PMC10855982 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Aedes aegypti is a major vector that transmits arboviruses through the saliva injected into the host. Salivary proteins help in uninterrupted blood intake and enhance the transmission of pathogens. We studied Niemann-Pick Type C2 (NPC2) proteins, a superfamily of saliva proteins that play an important role in arbovirus infections. In vertebrates, a single conserved gene encodes for the NPC2 protein that functions in cholesterol trafficking. Arthropods, in contrast, have several genes that encode divergent NPC2 proteins. We compared the sequences of 20 A. aegypti NPC2 proteins to the cholesterol-binding residues of human and bovine, and fatty-acid-binding residues of ant NPC2 protein. We identified four mosquito NPC2 proteins as potential sterol-binding proteins. Two of these proteins (AAEL006854 and/or AAEL020314) may play a key role in ecdysteroid biosynthesis and moulting. We also identified one mosquito NPC2 protein as a potential fatty-acid-binding protein. Through molecular modelling, we predicted the structures of the potential sterol- and fatty-acid-binding proteins and compared them to the reference proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cassandra M. Modahl
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
- Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
- Vector Biology Department, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
| | - R. Manjunatha Kini
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, VCU School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
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7
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Taracena-Agarwal ML, Hixson B, Nandakumar S, Girard-Mejia AP, Chen RY, Huot L, Padilla N, Buchon N. The midgut epithelium of mosquitoes adjusts cell proliferation and endoreplication to respond to physiological challenges. BMC Biol 2024; 22:22. [PMID: 38281940 PMCID: PMC10823748 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01769-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hematophagous mosquitoes transmit many pathogens that cause human diseases. Pathogen acquisition and transmission occur when female mosquitoes blood feed to acquire nutrients for reproduction. The midgut epithelium of mosquitoes serves as the point of entry for transmissible viruses and parasites. RESULTS We studied midgut epithelial dynamics in five major mosquito vector species by quantifying PH3-positive cells (indicative of mitotic proliferation), the incorporation of nucleotide analogs (indicative of DNA synthesis accompanying proliferation and/or endoreplication), and the ploidy (by flow cytometry) of cell populations in the posterior midgut epithelium of adult females. Our results show that the epithelial dynamics of post-emergence maturation and of mature sugar-fed guts were similar in members of the Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles genera. In the first three days post-emergence, ~ 20% of cells in the posterior midgut region of interest incorporated nucleotide analogs, concurrent with both proliferative activity and a broad shift toward higher ploidy. In mature mosquitoes maintained on sugar, an average of 3.5% of cells in the posterior midgut region of interest incorporated nucleotide analogs from five to eight days post-emergence, with a consistent presence of mitotic cells indicating constant cell turnover. Oral bacterial infection triggered a sharp increase in mitosis and nucleotide analog incorporation, suggesting that the mosquito midgut undergoes accelerated cellular turnover in response to damage. Finally, blood feeding resulted in an increase in cell proliferation, but the nature and intensity of the response varied by mosquito species and by blood source (human, bovine, avian or artificial). In An. gambiae, enterocytes appeared to reenter the cell cycle to increase ploidy after consuming blood from all sources except avian. CONCLUSIONS We saw that epithelial proliferation, differentiation, and endoreplication reshape the blood-fed gut to increase ploidy, possibly to facilitate increased metabolic activity. Our results highlight the plasticity of the midgut epithelium in mosquitoes' physiological responses to distinct challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Taracena-Agarwal
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA
| | - B Hixson
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA
| | - S Nandakumar
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA
| | - A P Girard-Mejia
- Grupo de Biología y Control de Vectores, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, 01015, Guatemala
| | - R Y Chen
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA
| | - L Huot
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA
| | - N Padilla
- Grupo de Biología y Control de Vectores, Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, 01015, Guatemala
| | - N Buchon
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Institute of Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14852, USA.
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8
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LaReau JC, Hyde J, Brackney DE, Steven B. Introducing an environmental microbiome to axenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes documents bacterial responses to a blood meal. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0095923. [PMID: 38014951 PMCID: PMC10734439 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00959-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The blood meal of the female mosquito serves as a nutrition source to support egg development, so is an important aspect of its biology. Yet, the roles the microbiome may play in blood digestion are poorly characterized. We employed axenic mosquitoes to investigate how the microbiome differs between mosquitoes reared in the insectary versus mosquitoes that acquire their microbiome from the environment. Environmental microbiomes were more diverse and showed larger temporal shifts over the course of blood digestion. Importantly, only bacteria from the environmental microbiome performed hemolysis in culture, pointing to functional differences between bacterial populations. These data highlight that taxonomic differences between the microbiomes of insectary-reared and wild mosquitoes are potentially also related to their functional ecology. Thus, axenic mosquitoes colonized with environmental bacteria offer a way to investigate the role of bacteria from the wild in mosquito processes such as blood digestion, under controlled laboratory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacquelyn C. LaReau
- Department of Environmental Science and Forestry, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Josephine Hyde
- Department of Environmental Science and Forestry, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Doug E. Brackney
- Department of Entomology, Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Blaire Steven
- Department of Environmental Science and Forestry, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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9
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Tsujimoto H, Adelman ZN. An 11-point time course midgut transcriptome across 72 h after bloodfeeding provides detailed temporal resolution of transcript expression in the arbovirus vector, Aedes aegypti. Genome Res 2023; 33:1638-1648. [PMID: 37802532 PMCID: PMC10620042 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277808.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
As the major vector for dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses, the mosquito Aedes aegypti is one of the most important insects in public health. These viruses are transmitted by bloodfeeding, which is also necessary for the reproduction of the mosquito. Thus, the midgut plays an essential role in mosquito physiology as the center for bloodmeal digestion and as an organ that serves as the first line of defense against viruses. Despite its importance, transcriptomic dynamics with fine temporal resolution across the entire digestion cycle have not yet been reported. To fill this gap, we conducted a transcriptomic analysis of A. aegypti female midguts across a 72-h bloodmeal digestion cycle for 11 time points, with a particular focus on the first 24 h. PCA analysis confirmed that 72 h is indeed a complete digestion cycle. Cluster and GO enrichment analysis showed the orchestrated modulation of thousands of genes to accomplish the midgut's role as the center for digestion, as well as nutrient transport with a clear progression with sequential emphasis on transcription, translation, energy production, nutrient metabolism, transport, and finally, autophagy by 24-36 h. We further determined that many serine proteases are robustly expressed as if to prepare for unexpected physiological challenges. This study provides a powerful resource for the analysis of genomic features that coordinate the rapid and complex transcriptional program induced by mosquito bloodfeeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Tsujimoto
- Department of Entomology and Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas 77853, USA
| | - Zach N Adelman
- Department of Entomology and Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas 77853, USA
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10
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Zhou Y, Deng D, Chen R, Lai C, Chen Q. Effects of antennal segments defects on blood-sucking behavior in Aedes albopictus. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0276036. [PMID: 37561778 PMCID: PMC10414602 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
After mating, female mosquitoes need a blood meal to promote the reproductive process. When mosquitoes bite infected people and animals, they become infected with germs such as viruses and parasites. Mosquitoes rely on many cues for host selection and localization, among which the trace chemical cues emitted by the host into the environment are considered to be the most important, and the sense of smell is the main way to perceive these trace chemical cues. However, the current understanding of the olfactory mechanism is not enough to meet the needs of mosquito control. Unlike previous studies that focused on the olfactory receptor recognition spectrum to reveal the olfactory mechanism of mosquito host localization. In this paper, based on the observation that mosquitoes with incomplete antennae still can locate the host and complete blood feeding in the laboratory, we proposed that there may be some protection or compensation mechanism in the 13 segments of antennae flagella, and only when the antennae are missing to a certain threshold will it affect the mosquito's ability to locate the host. Through rational-designed behavioral experiments, we found that the 6th and 7th flagellomeres on the Aedes albopictus antenna are important in the olfactory detection of host searching. This study preliminarily screened antennal segments important for host localization of Ae. albopictus, and provided a reference for subsequent cell biology and molecular biology studies on these segments. Meanwhile, the morphology and distribution of sensilla on each antenna flagellomere were also analyzed and discussed in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyuan Zhou
- Research Center of Eugenics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
- Department of Obstetrics, The first affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
| | - Dongyang Deng
- Research Center of Eugenics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
- Department of Obstetrics, The first affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
| | - Rong Chen
- Research Center of Eugenics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
- Department of Obstetrics, The first affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
| | - Chencen Lai
- Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmaceutical Engineering Research Center of Guizhou Provincial Department of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
- Department of Nosocomial Infection, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
| | - Qian Chen
- Research Center of Eugenics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
- Department of Obstetrics, The first affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
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11
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Magistrado D, El-Dougdoug NK, Short SM. Sugar restriction and blood ingestion shape divergent immune defense trajectories in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12368. [PMID: 37524824 PMCID: PMC10390476 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39067-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune defense is comprised of (1) resistance: the ability to reduce pathogen load, and (2) tolerance: the ability to limit the disease severity induced by a given pathogen load. The study of tolerance in the field of animal immunity is fairly nascent in comparison to resistance. Consequently, studies which examine immune defense comprehensively (i.e. considering both resistance and tolerance in conjunction) are uncommon, despite their exigency in achieving a thorough understanding of immune defense. Furthermore, understanding tolerance in arthropod disease vectors is uniquely relevant, as tolerance is essential to the cyclical transmission of pathogens by arthropods. Here, we tested the effect(s) of dietary sucrose concentration and blood ingestion on resistance and tolerance to Escherichia coli infection in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Resistance and tolerance were measured concurrently and at multiple timepoints. We found that mosquitoes from the restricted sugar treatment displayed enhanced resistance at all timepoints post-infection compared to those from the laboratory standard sugar treatment. Blood also improved resistance, but only early post-infection. While sucrose restriction had no effect on tolerance, we show that consuming blood prior to bacterial infection ameliorates a temporal decline in tolerance that mosquitoes experience when provided with only sugar meals. Taken together, our findings indicate that different dietary components can have unique and sometimes temporally dynamic impacts on resistance and tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dom Magistrado
- Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Noha K El-Dougdoug
- Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha, Egypt
| | - Sarah M Short
- Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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12
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Love RR, Sikder JR, Vivero RJ, Matute DR, Schrider DR. Strong Positive Selection in Aedes aegypti and the Rapid Evolution of Insecticide Resistance. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad072. [PMID: 36971242 PMCID: PMC10118305 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Aedes aegypti vectors the pathogens that cause dengue, yellow fever, Zika virus, and chikungunya and is a serious threat to public health in tropical regions. Decades of work has illuminated many aspects of Ae. aegypti's biology and global population structure and has identified insecticide resistance genes; however, the size and repetitive nature of the Ae. aegypti genome have limited our ability to detect positive selection in this mosquito. Combining new whole genome sequences from Colombia with publicly available data from Africa and the Americas, we identify multiple strong candidate selective sweeps in Ae. aegypti, many of which overlap genes linked to or implicated in insecticide resistance. We examine the voltage-gated sodium channel gene in three American cohorts and find evidence for successive selective sweeps in Colombia. The most recent sweep encompasses an intermediate-frequency haplotype containing four candidate insecticide resistance mutations that are in near-perfect linkage disequilibrium with one another in the Colombian sample. We hypothesize that this haplotype may continue to rapidly increase in frequency and perhaps spread geographically in the coming years. These results extend our knowledge of how insecticide resistance has evolved in this species and add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that Ae. aegypti has an extensive genomic capacity to rapidly adapt to insecticide-based vector control.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Rebecca Love
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCUSA
| | - Josh R Sikder
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCUSA
| | - Rafael J Vivero
- Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales, PECET, Universidad de Antioquia, Chapel Hill, NCColombia
| | - Daniel R Matute
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Daniel R Schrider
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCUSA
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13
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Cheng BX, Shao GY, Li Y, Tian QQ, Wang SY, Liu F. Molecular cloning and characterisation of the PmEglin cDNA in the leech Hirudinaria sp. Biologia (Bratisl) 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11756-022-01277-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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14
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Amarante ADM, da Silva ICDA, Carneiro VC, Vicentino ARR, Pinto MDA, Higa LM, Moharana KC, Talyuli OAC, Venancio TM, de Oliveira PL, Fantappié MR. Zika virus infection drives epigenetic modulation of immunity by the histone acetyltransferase CBP of Aedes aegypti. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010559. [PMID: 35759510 PMCID: PMC9269902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for a wide range of biological phenomena in insects, controlling embryonic development, growth, aging and nutrition. Despite this, the role of epigenetics in shaping insect-pathogen interactions has received little attention. Gene expression in eukaryotes is regulated by histone acetylation/deacetylation, an epigenetic process mediated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). In this study, we explored the role of the Aedes aegypti histone acetyltransferase CBP (AaCBP) after infection with Zika virus (ZIKV), focusing on the two main immune tissues, the midgut and fat body. We showed that the expression and activity of AaCBP could be positively modulated by blood meal and ZIKV infection. Nevertheless, Zika-infected mosquitoes that were silenced for AaCBP revealed a significant reduction in the acetylation of H3K27 (CBP target marker), followed by downmodulation of the expression of immune genes, higher titers of ZIKV and lower survival rates. Importantly, in Zika-infected mosquitoes that were treated with sodium butyrate, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, their capacity to fight virus infection was rescued. Our data point to a direct correlation among histone hyperacetylation by AaCBP, upregulation of antimicrobial peptide genes and increased survival of Zika-infected-A. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson de Mendonça Amarante
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Isabel Caetano de Abreu da Silva
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Vitor Coutinho Carneiro
- Division of Epigenetics, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Amanda Roberta Revoredo Vicentino
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Marcia de Amorim Pinto
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Luiza Mendonça Higa
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Kanhu Charan Moharana
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brasil
| | - Octavio A. C. Talyuli
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Thiago Motta Venancio
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brasil
| | - Pedro Lagerblad de Oliveira
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Marcelo Rosado Fantappié
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- Instituto Nacional de Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
- * E-mail:
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15
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Antiviral RNAi Mechanisms to Arboviruses in Mosquitoes: microRNA Profile of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus from Grenada, West Indies. Appl Microbiol 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/applmicrobiol2020029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mosquito-borne arboviruses, such as dengue virus, West Nile virus, Zika virus and yellow fever virus, impose a tremendous cost on the health of populations around the world. As a result, much effort has gone into the study of the impact of these viruses on human infections. Comparatively less effort, however, has been made to study the way these viruses interact with mosquitoes themselves. As ingested arboviruses infect their midgut and subsequently other tissue, the mosquito mounts a multifaceted innate immune response. RNA interference, the central intracellular antiviral defense mechanism in mosquitoes and other invertebrates can be induced and modulated through outside triggers (small RNAs) and treatments (transgenesis or viral-vector delivery). Accordingly, modulation of this facet of the mosquito’s immune system would thereby suggest a practical strategy for vector control. However, this requires a detailed understanding of mosquitoes’ endogenous small RNAs and their effects on the mosquito and viral proliferation. This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the mosquito’s immune system along with novel data describing miRNA profiles for Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasiatus in Grenada, West Indies.
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16
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Wang Z, Zeng P, Zhou B. Identification and characterization of a heme exporter from the MRP family in Drosophila melanogaster. BMC Biol 2022; 20:126. [PMID: 35655259 PMCID: PMC9161523 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01332-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The heme group constitutes a major functional form of iron, which plays vital roles in various biological processes including oxygen transport and mitochondrial respiration. Heme is an essential nutrient, but its pro-oxidant nature may have toxic cellular effects if present at high levels, and its synthesis is therefore tightly regulated. Deficiency and excess of heme both lead to pathological processes; however, our current understanding of metazoan heme transport is largely limited to work in mammals and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, while functional analyses of heme transport in the genetically amenable Drosophila melanogaster and other arthropods have not been explored. RESULTS We implemented a functional screening in Schneider 2 (S2) cells to identify putative heme transporters of D. melanogaster. A few multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) members were found to be induced by hemin and/or involved in heme export. Between the two plasma membrane-resident heme exporters CG4562 and CG7627, the former is responsible for heme transit across the intestinal epithelium. CG4562 knockdown resulted in heme accumulation in the intestine and lethality that could be alleviated by heme synthesis inhibition, human MRP5 (hMRP5) expression, heme oxygenase (HO) expression, or zinc supplement. CG4562 is mainly expressed in the gastric caeca and the anterior part of the midgut, suggesting this is the major site of heme absorption. It thus appears that CG4562 is the functional counterpart of mammalian MRP5. Mutation analyses in the transmembrane and nucleotide binding domains of CG4562 characterized some potential binding sites and conservative ATP binding pockets for the heme transport process. Furthermore, some homologs in Aedes aegypti, including that of CG4562, have also been characterized as heme exporters. CONCLUSIONS Together, our findings suggest a conserved heme homeostasis mechanism within insects, and between insects and mammals. We propose the fly model may be a good complement to the existing platforms of heme studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Peng Zeng
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Bing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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17
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Bottino-Rojas V, Ferreira-Almeida I, Nunes RD, Feng X, Pham TB, Kelsey A, Carballar-Lejarazú R, Gantz V, Oliveira PL, James AA. Beyond the eye: Kynurenine pathway impairment causes midgut homeostasis dysfunction and survival and reproductive costs in blood-feeding mosquitoes. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 142:103720. [PMID: 34999199 PMCID: PMC11055609 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Insect ommochrome biosynthesis pathways metabolize tryptophan to generate eye-color pigments and wild-type alleles of pathway genes are useful phenotypic markers in transgenesis studies. Pleiotropic effects of mutations in some genes exert a load on both survival and reproductive success in blood-feeding species. Here, we investigated the challenges imposed on mosquitoes by the increase of tryptophan metabolites resulting from blood meal digestion and the impact of disruptions of the ommochrome biosynthesis pathway. Female mosquitoes with spontaneous and induced mutations in the orthologs of the genes encoding kynurenine hydroxylase in Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus exhibited impaired survival and reproductive phenotypes that varied in type and severity among the species. A compromised midgut permeability barrier function was also observed in An. stephensi. Surprisingly, mutant mosquitoes displayed an increase in microbiota compared to controls that was not accompanied by a general induction of immune genes. Antibiotic treatment rescued some deleterious traits implicating a role for the kynurenine pathway (KP) in midgut homeostasis. Supplemental xanthurenic acid, a KP end-product, rescued lethality and limited microbiota proliferation in Ae. aegypti. These data implicate the KP in the regulation of the host/microbiota interface. These pleiotropic effects on mosquito physiology are important in the development of genetic strategies targeting vector mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Bottino-Rojas
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Igor Ferreira-Almeida
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo D Nunes
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Xuechun Feng
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Thai Binh Pham
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Adam Kelsey
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | | | - Valentino Gantz
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Pedro L Oliveira
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
| | - Anthony A James
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
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18
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Javed N, Bhatti A, Paradkar PN. Advances in Understanding Vector Behavioural Traits after Infection. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10111376. [PMID: 34832532 PMCID: PMC8621129 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vector behavioural traits, such as fitness, host-seeking, and host-feeding, are key determinants of vectorial capacity, pathogen transmission, and epidemiology of the vector-borne disease. Several studies have shown that infection with pathogens can alter these behavioural traits of the arthropod vector. Here, we review relevant publications to assess how pathogens modulate the behaviour of mosquitoes and ticks, major vectors for human diseases. The research has shown that infection with pathogens alter the mosquito’s flight activity, mating, fecundity, host-seeking, blood-feeding, and adaptations to insecticide bed nets, and similarly modify the tick’s locomotion, questing heights, vertical and horizontal walks, tendency to overcome obstacles, and host-seeking ability. Although some of these behavioural changes may theoretically increase transmission potential of the pathogens, their effect on the disease epidemiology remains to be verified. This study will not only help in understanding virus–vector interactions but will also benefit in establishing role of these behavioural changes in improved epidemiological models and in devising new vector management strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nouman Javed
- CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, Australian Centre for Diseases Preparedness, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
- Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
| | - Asim Bhatti
- Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
| | - Prasad N. Paradkar
- CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, Australian Centre for Diseases Preparedness, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;
- Correspondence:
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19
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Azlan A, Halim MA, Mohamad F, Azzam G. Identification and characterization of long noncoding RNAs and their association with acquisition of blood meal in Culex quinquefasciatus. INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 28:917-928. [PMID: 32621332 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The Southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus (Cx. quinquefasciatus) is an important vector that transmit multiple diseases including West Nile encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and lymphatic filariasis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) involve in many biological processes such as development, infection, and virus-host interaction. However, there is no systematic identification and characterization of lncRNAs in Cx. quinquefasciatus. Here, we report the first lncRNA identification in Cx. quinquefasciatus. By using 31 public RNA-seq datasets, a total of 4763 novel lncRNA transcripts were identified, of which 3591, 569, and 603 were intergenic, intronic, and antisense respectively. Examination of genomic features revealed that Cx. quinquefasciatus shared similar characteristics with other species such as short in length, low GC content, low sequence conservation, and low coding potential. Furthermore, compared to protein-coding genes, Cx. quinquefasciatus lncRNAs had lower expression values, and tended to be expressed in temporally specific fashion. In addition, weighted correlation network and functional annotation analyses showed that lncRNAs may have roles in blood meal acquisition of adult female Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. This study presents the first systematic identification and analysis of Cx. quinquefasciatus lncRNAs and their association with blood feeding. Results generated from this study will facilitate future investigation on the function of Cx. quinquefasciatus lncRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azali Azlan
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
| | | | - Faisal Mohamad
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
| | - Ghows Azzam
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
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20
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Perdomo HD, Hussain M, Parry R, Etebari K, Hedges LM, Zhang G, Schulz BL, Asgari S. Human blood microRNA hsa-miR-21-5p induces vitellogenin in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Commun Biol 2021; 4:856. [PMID: 34244602 PMCID: PMC8270986 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02385-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosquito vectors transmit various diseases through blood feeding, required for their egg development. Hence, blood feeding is a major physiological event in their life cycle, during which hundreds of genes are tightly regulated. Blood is a rich source of proteins for mosquitoes, but also contains many other molecules including microRNAs (miRNAs). Here, we found that human blood miRNAs are transported abundantly into the fat body tissue of Aedes aegypti, a key metabolic center in post-blood feeding reproductive events, where they target and regulate mosquito genes. Using an artificial diet spiked with the mimic of an abundant and stable human blood miRNA, hsa-miR-21-5p, and proteomics analysis, we found over 40 proteins showing differential expression in female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes after feeding. Of interest, we found that the miRNA positively regulates the vitellogenin gene, coding for a yolk protein produced in the mosquito fat body and then transported to the ovaries as a protein source for egg production. Inhibition of hsa-miR-21-5p followed by human blood feeding led to a statistically insignificant reduction in progeny production. The results provide another example of the involvement of small regulatory molecules in the interaction of taxonomically vastly different taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo D. Perdomo
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Mazhar Hussain
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Rhys Parry
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia ,grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Kayvan Etebari
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Lauren M. Hedges
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Guangmei Zhang
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Benjamin L. Schulz
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Sassan Asgari
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
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21
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Patil G. Evolution of fibrinogen domain related proteins in Aedes aegypti: Their expression during Arbovirus infections. GENE REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.genrep.2021.101030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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22
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Coatsworth H, Caicedo PA, Winsor G, Brinkman F, Ocampo CB, Lowenberger C. Transcriptome comparison of dengue-susceptible and -resistant field derived strains of Colombian Aedes aegypti using RNA-sequencing. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2021; 116:e200547. [PMID: 34076041 PMCID: PMC8186470 DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760200547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Forty percent of the world’s population live in areas where they are at risk from dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome. Dengue viruses are transmitted primarily by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. In Cali, Colombia, approximately 30% of field collected Ae. aegypti are naturally refractory to all four dengue serotypes. OBJECTIVES Use RNA-sequencing to identify those genes that determine refractoriness in feral mosquitoes to dengue. This information can be used in gene editing strategies to reduce dengue transmission. METHODS We employed a full factorial design, analyzing differential gene expression across time (24, 36 and 48 h post bloodmeal), feeding treatment (blood or blood + dengue-2) and strain (susceptible or refractory). Sequences were aligned to the reference Ae. aegypti genome for identification, assembled to visualize transcript structure, and analyzed for dynamic gene expression changes. A variety of clustering techniques was used to identify the differentially expressed genes. FINDINGS We identified a subset of genes that likely assist dengue entry and replication in susceptible mosquitoes and contribute to vector competence. MAIN CONCLUSIONS The differential expression of specific genes by refractory and susceptible mosquitoes could determine the phenotype, and may be used to in gene editing strategies to reduce dengue transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Coatsworth
- Simon Fraser University, Department of Biological Sciences, C2D2 Research Group, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Paola A Caicedo
- Universidad Icesi, Natural Science Faculty, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas, Department of Biology, Vector Biology and Control, Cali, Colombia
| | - Geoffrey Winsor
- Simon Fraser University, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Fiona Brinkman
- Simon Fraser University, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Clara B Ocampo
- Universidad Icesi, Natural Science Faculty, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas, Department of Biology, Vector Biology and Control, Cali, Colombia
| | - Carl Lowenberger
- Simon Fraser University, Department of Biological Sciences, C2D2 Research Group, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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23
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Nag DK, Dieme C, Lapierre P, Lasek-Nesselquist E, Kramer LD. RNA-Seq analysis of blood meal induced gene-expression changes in Aedes aegypti ovaries. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:396. [PMID: 34044772 PMCID: PMC8161926 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07551-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Transmission of pathogens by vector mosquitoes is intrinsically linked with mosquito’s reproductive strategy because anautogenous mosquitoes require vertebrate blood to develop a batch of eggs. Each cycle of egg maturation is tightly linked with the intake of a fresh blood meal for most species. Mosquitoes that acquire pathogens during the first blood feeding can transmit the pathogens to susceptible hosts during subsequent blood feeding and also vertically to the next generation via infected eggs. Large-scale gene-expression changes occur following each blood meal in various tissues, including ovaries. Here we analyzed mosquito ovary transcriptome following a blood meal at three different time points to investigate blood-meal induced changes in gene expression in mosquito ovaries. Results We collected ovaries from Aedes aegypti that received a sugar meal or a blood meal on days 3, 10 and 20 post blood meal for transcriptome analysis. Over 4000 genes responded differentially following ingestion of a blood meal on day 3, and 660 and 780 genes on days 10 and 20, respectively. Proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes (DEGs) on day 3 include odorant binding proteins (OBPs), defense-specific proteins, and cytochrome P450 detoxification enzymes. In addition, we identified 580 long non-coding RNAs that are differentially expressed at three time points. Gene ontology analysis indicated that genes involved in peptidase activity, oxidoreductase activity, extracellular space, and hydrolase activity, among others were enriched on day 3. Although most of the DEGs returned to the nonsignificant level compared to the sugar-fed mosquito ovaries following oviposition on days 10 and 20, there remained differences in the gene expression pattern in sugar-fed and blood-fed mosquitoes. Conclusions Enrichment of OBPs following blood meal ingestion suggests that these genes may have other functions besides being part of the olfactory system. The enrichment of immune-specific genes and cytochrome P450 genes indicates that ovaries become well prepared to protect their germ line from any pathogens that may accompany the blood meal or from environmental contamination during oviposition, and to deal with the detrimental effects of toxic metabolites. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07551-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilip K Nag
- Arbovirus Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, NY, 12159, USA.
| | - Constentin Dieme
- Arbovirus Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, NY, 12159, USA
| | - Pascal Lapierre
- Bioinformatics Core, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Center for Medical Science, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Erica Lasek-Nesselquist
- Bioinformatics Core, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Center for Medical Science, Albany, NY, 12208, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Laura D Kramer
- Arbovirus Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, NY, 12159, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
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Ouali R, Vieira LR, Salmon D, Bousbata S. Early Post-Prandial Regulation of Protein Expression in the Midgut of Chagas Disease Vector Rhodnius prolixus Highlights New Potential Targets for Vector Control Strategy. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9040804. [PMID: 33920371 PMCID: PMC8069306 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9040804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by the flagellated protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted to humans by a large group of bloodsucking triatomine bugs. Triatomine insects, such as Rhodnius prolixus, ingest a huge amount of blood in a single meal. Their midgut represents an important interface for triatomine–trypanosome interactions. Furthermore, the development of parasites and their vectorial transmission are closely linked to the blood feeding and digestion; thus, an understanding of their physiology is essential for the development of new strategies to control triatomines. In this study, we used label-free quantitative proteomics to identify and analyze the early effect of blood feeding on protein expression in the midgut of Rhodnius prolixus. We both identified and quantified 124 proteins in the anterior midgut (AM) and 40 in the posterior midgut (PM), which vary significantly 6 h after feeding. The detailed analysis of these proteins revealed their predominant involvement in the primary function of hematophagy, including proteases, proteases inhibitors, amino acids metabolism, primary metabolites processing, and protein folding. Interestingly, our proteomics data show a potential role of the AM in protein digestion. Moreover, proteins related to detoxification processes and innate immunity, which are largely accepted to be triggered by blood ingestion, were mildly modulated. Surprisingly, one third of blood-regulated proteins in the AM have unknown function. This work contributes to the improvement of knowledge on the digestive physiology of triatomines in the early hours post-feeding. It provides key information for selecting new putative targets for the development of triatomine control tools and their potential role in the vector competence, which could be applied to other vector species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radouane Ouali
- Proteomic Plateform, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Molecular Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
- Correspondence: (R.O.); (S.B.)
| | - Larissa Rezende Vieira
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Trypanosomatids, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro RJ 21941-902, Brazil; (L.R.V.); (D.S.)
| | - Didier Salmon
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Trypanosomatids, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro RJ 21941-902, Brazil; (L.R.V.); (D.S.)
| | - Sabrina Bousbata
- Proteomic Plateform, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Molecular Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
- Correspondence: (R.O.); (S.B.)
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Tsujimoto H, Anderson MAE, Eggleston H, Myles KM, Adelman ZN. Aedes aegypti dyspepsia encodes a novel member of the SLC16 family of transporters and is critical for reproductive fitness. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009334. [PMID: 33826624 PMCID: PMC8055033 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As a key vector for major arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya, control of Aedes aegypti represents a major challenge in public health. Bloodmeal acquisition is necessary for the reproduction of vector mosquitoes and pathogen transmission. Blood contains potentially toxic amounts of iron while it provides nutrients for mosquito offspring; disruption of iron homeostasis in the mosquito may therefore lead to novel control strategies. We previously described a potential iron exporter in Ae. aegypti after a targeted functional screen of ZIP (zinc-regulated transporter/Iron-regulated transporter-like) and ZnT (zinc transporter) family genes. In this study, we performed an RNAseq-based screen in an Ae. aegypti cell line cultured under iron-deficient and iron-excess conditions. A subset of differentially expressed genes were analyzed via a cytosolic iron-sensitive dual-luciferase reporter assay with several gene candidates potentially involved in iron transport. In vivo gene silencing resulted in significant reduction of fecundity (egg number) and fertility (hatch rate) for one gene, termed dyspepsia. Silencing of dyspepsia reduced the induction of ferritin expression in the midgut and also resulted in delayed/impaired excretion and digestion. Further characterization of this gene, including a more direct confirmation of its substrate (iron or otherwise), could inform vector control strategies as well as to contribute to the field of metal biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Tsujimoto
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | | | - Heather Eggleston
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Kevin M. Myles
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Zach N. Adelman
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M Agrilife Research, College Station, Texas, United States of America
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Sloan MA, Sadlova J, Lestinova T, Sanders MJ, Cotton JA, Volf P, Ligoxygakis P. The Phlebotomus papatasi systemic transcriptional response to trypanosomatid-contaminated blood does not differ from the non-infected blood meal. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:15. [PMID: 33407867 PMCID: PMC7789365 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04498-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Leishmaniasis, caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania, is a disease that affects up to 8 million people worldwide. Parasites are transmitted to human and animal hosts through the bite of an infected sand fly. Novel strategies for disease control require a better understanding of the key step for transmission, namely the establishment of infection inside the fly. Methods The aim of this work was to identify sand fly systemic transcriptomic signatures associated with Leishmania infection. We used next generation sequencing to describe the transcriptome of whole Phlebotomus papatasi sand flies when fed with blood alone (control) or with blood containing one of three trypanosomatids: Leishmania major, L. donovani and Herpetomonas muscarum, the latter being a parasite not transmitted to humans. Results Of the trypanosomatids studied, only L. major was able to successfully establish an infection in the host P. papatasi. However, the transcriptional signatures observed after each parasite-contaminated blood meal were not specific to success or failure of a specific infection and they did not differ from each other. The transcriptional signatures were also indistinguishable after a non-contaminated blood meal. Conclusions The results imply that sand flies perceive Leishmania as just one feature of their microbiome landscape and that any strategy to tackle transmission should focus on the response towards the blood meal rather than parasite establishment. Alternatively, Leishmania could suppress host responses. These results will generate new thinking around the concept of stopping transmission by controlling the parasite inside the insect.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan A Sloan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Jovana Sadlova
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tereza Lestinova
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Mandy J Sanders
- The Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - James A Cotton
- The Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Petr Volf
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petros Ligoxygakis
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
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27
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Wimalasiri-Yapa BMCR, Barrero RA, Stassen L, Hafner LM, McGraw EA, Pyke AT, Jansen CC, Suhrbier A, Yakob L, Hu W, Devine GJ, Frentiu FD. Temperature modulates immune gene expression in mosquitoes during arbovirus infection. Open Biol 2021; 11:200246. [PMID: 33401993 PMCID: PMC7881175 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The principal vector of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses is the mosquito Aedes aegypti, with its ability to transmit pathogens influenced by ambient temperature. We use chikungunya virus (CHIKV) to understand how the mosquito transcriptome responds to arbovirus infection at different ambient temperatures. We exposed CHIKV-infected mosquitoes to 18, 28 and 32°C, and found that higher temperature correlated with higher virus levels, particularly at 3 days post infection, but lower temperature resulted in reduced virus levels. RNAseq analysis indicated significantly altered gene expression levels in CHIKV infection. The highest number of significantly differentially expressed genes was observed at 28°C, with a more muted effect at the other temperatures. At the higher temperature, the expression of many classical immune genes, including Dicer-2, was not substantially altered in response to CHIKV. The upregulation of Toll, IMD and JAK-STAT pathways was only observed at 28°C. Functional annotations suggested that genes in immune response and metabolic pathways related to energy supply and DNA replication were involved in temperature-dependent changes. Time post infection also led to substantially different gene expression profiles, and this varied with temperature. In conclusion, temperature significantly modulates mosquito gene expression in response to infection, potentially leading to impairment of immune defences at higher temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. M. C. Randika Wimalasiri-Yapa
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - Roberto A. Barrero
- eResearch Office, Division of Research and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Liesel Stassen
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Louise M. Hafner
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Elizabeth A. McGraw
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA
| | - Alyssa T. Pyke
- Public Health Virology Laboratory, Forensic and Scientific Services, Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia
| | - Cassie C. Jansen
- Communicable Diseases Branch, Department of Health, Queensland Government, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Andreas Suhrbier
- Inflammation Biology, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia
| | - Laith Yakob
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Wenbiao Hu
- School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gregor J. Devine
- Mosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Francesca D. Frentiu
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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28
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Cui Y, Franz AWE. Heterogeneity of midgut cells and their differential responses to blood meal ingestion by the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 127:103496. [PMID: 33188922 PMCID: PMC7739889 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes are the most notorious hematophagous insects and due to their blood feeding behavior and genetic compatibility, numerous mosquito species are highly efficient vectors for certain human pathogenic parasites and viruses. The mosquito midgut is the principal organ of blood meal digestion and nutrient absorption. It is also the initial site of infection with blood meal acquired parasites and viruses. We conducted an analysis based on single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-Seq) to assess the cellular diversity of the midgut and how individual cells respond to blood meal ingestion to facilitate its digestion. Our study revealed the presence of 20 distinguishable cell-type clusters in the female midgut of Aedes aegypti. The identified cell types included intestinal stem cells (ISC), enteroblasts (EB), differentiating EB (dEB), enteroendocrine cells (EE), enterocytes (EC), EC-like cells, cardia cells, and visceral muscle (VM) cells. Blood meal ingestion dramatically changed the overall midgut cell type composition, profoundly increasing the proportions of ISC and three EC/EC-like clusters. In addition, transcriptional profiles of all cell types were strongly affected while genes involved in various metabolic processes were significantly upregulated. Our study provides a basis for further physiological and molecular studies on blood digestion, nutrient absorption, and cellular homeostasis in the mosquito midgut.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjun Cui
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
| | - Alexander W E Franz
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
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29
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Huang Y, Li H, Wang C, Xu X, Yu H, Meng J, Qi X, Wang B, Pan B. De novo assembly and discovery of genes related to blood digestion in the transcriptome of Dermanyssus gallinae (Acari: Dermanyssidae). Vet Parasitol 2020; 286:109246. [PMID: 32992158 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2020.109246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Dermanyssus gallinae is an economically important blood-feeding ectoparasite affecting layer chicken farms in many countries. Similar to other blood-feeding arthropods, the blood-meal digestion plays a key role in the survival and reproduction of D. gallinae. The knowledge of the genes involved in blood digestion processes may provide new targets for drug and vaccine against the red mites. In the present study, we sequenced and de novo assembled the transcriptomes of unfed and fed adult red mites using Illumina RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. Up to 40,506 unigenes were assembled, and 13,018 unigenes were identified and annotated. GO analysis of the annotated unigenes clustered into three main GO terms. The dominant GO terms of biological processes were cellular process and metabolic process, the prevailing GO terms of the cellular component were cell part and membrane part, and the dominant GO terms of molecular functions were catalytic and binding activities. Up to 6,443 annotated sequences were assigned to 246 active pathways by KEGG analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis identified 2,877 unigenes with upregulated 2,094 and downregulated 783 in fed female mites compared with unfed female mites. The biological function of these DEGs was further investigated using the KEGG and GO databases. The upregulated DEGs were potentially involved in nutrient metabolism, highlighting their importance in red mite biology. Quantitative reverse transcription real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) validated that the expression levels of the selected six upregulated DEGs were consistent with those in RNA-seq, indicating that the transcriptomic data are reliable. The present study provides valuable and fundamental knowledge that improves our understanding of the physiology of D. gallinae digestion at a molecular level. Moreover, these transcriptomic data will facilitate the identification of novel function genes and candidate antigens for the development of effective vaccines or drug targets to control D. gallinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Huang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Huan Li
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Chuanwen Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaolin Xu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - He Yu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Jali Meng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Qi
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Bohan Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Baoliang Pan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
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30
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Camargo C, Ahmed-Braimah YH, Amaro IA, Harrington LC, Wolfner MF, Avila FW. Mating and blood-feeding induce transcriptome changes in the spermathecae of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Sci Rep 2020; 10:14899. [PMID: 32913240 PMCID: PMC7484758 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71904-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the primary vectors of numerous viruses that impact human health. As manipulation of reproduction has been proposed to suppress mosquito populations, elucidation of biological processes that enable males and females to successfully reproduce is necessary. One essential process is female sperm storage in specialized structures called spermathecae. Aedes aegypti females typically mate once, requiring them to maintain sperm viably to fertilize eggs they lay over their lifetime. Spermathecal gene products are required for Drosophila sperm storage and sperm viability, and a spermathecal-derived heme peroxidase is required for long-term Anopheles gambiae fertility. Products of the Ae. aegypti spermathecae, and their response to mating, are largely unknown. Further, although female blood-feeding is essential for anautogenous mosquito reproduction, the transcriptional response to blood-ingestion remains undefined in any reproductive tissue. We conducted an RNAseq analysis of spermathecae from unfed virgins, mated only, and mated and blood-fed females at 6, 24, and 72 h post-mating and identified significant differentially expressed genes in each group at each timepoint. A blood-meal following mating induced a greater transcriptional response in the spermathecae than mating alone. This study provides the first view of elicited mRNA changes in the spermathecae by a blood-meal in mated females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Camargo
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Mosquito Reproductive Biology, Universidad de Antioquia, Complejo RutaN, Calle 67 #52-20, Laboratory 4-166, 050010, Medellín, Colombia
| | | | - I Alexandra Amaro
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | | | - Mariana F Wolfner
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Frank W Avila
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Mosquito Reproductive Biology, Universidad de Antioquia, Complejo RutaN, Calle 67 #52-20, Laboratory 4-166, 050010, Medellín, Colombia.
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Giraldo-Calderón GI, Calle-Tobón A, Rozo-López P, Colpitts TM, Park Y, Rua-Uribe GL, Londono-Renteria B. Transcriptome of the Aedes aegypti Mosquito in Response to Human Complement Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21186584. [PMID: 32916828 PMCID: PMC7555780 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21186584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Aedes aegypti is the primary mosquito vector of several human arboviruses, including the dengue virus (DENV). Vector control is the principal intervention to decrease the transmission of these viruses. The characterization of molecules involved in the mosquito physiological responses to blood-feeding may help identify novel targets useful in designing effective control strategies. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo effect of feeding adult female mosquitoes with human red blood cells reconstituted with either heat-inactivated (IB) or normal plasma (NB). The RNA-seq based transcript expression of IB and NB mosquitoes was compared against sugar-fed (SF) mosquitoes. In in vitro experiments, we treated Aag2 cells with a recombinant version of complement proteins (hC3 or hC5a) and compared transcript expression to untreated control cells after 24 h. The transcript expression analysis revealed that human complement proteins modulate approximately 2300 transcripts involved in multiple biological functions, including immunity. We also found 161 upregulated and 168 downregulated transcripts differentially expressed when human complement protein C3 (hC3) and human complement protein C5a (hC5a) treated cells were compared to the control untreated cells. We conclude that active human complement induces significant changes to the transcriptome of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, which may influence the physiology of these arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria I. Giraldo-Calderón
- VectorBase, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA;
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicasy, Universidad Icesi, Calle 18 No. 122–135, 760020 Cali, Colombia
- Departamento de Ciencias Básicas Médicas, Universidad Icesi, Calle 18 No. 122–135, 760020 Cali, Colombia
| | - Arley Calle-Tobón
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (A.C.-T.); (P.R.-L.); (Y.P.)
- Grupo Entomología Médica, Universidad de Antioquia, 050001 Medellín, Colombia;
| | - Paula Rozo-López
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (A.C.-T.); (P.R.-L.); (Y.P.)
| | - Tonya M. Colpitts
- Department of Microbiology & National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University School of Medicine; Boston, MA 02118, USA;
| | - Yoonseong Park
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (A.C.-T.); (P.R.-L.); (Y.P.)
| | | | - Berlin Londono-Renteria
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; (A.C.-T.); (P.R.-L.); (Y.P.)
- Correspondence:
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32
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Transcriptomic analyses of Aedes aegypti cultured cells and ex vivo midguts in response to an excess or deficiency of heme: a quest for transcriptionally-regulated heme transporters. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:604. [PMID: 32867680 PMCID: PMC7460771 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06981-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Aedes aegypti is the principle vector of many arboviruses, including dengue virus and Zika virus, which are transmitted when an infected female mosquito takes a blood meal in order to initiate vitellogenesis. During blood digestion, ~ 10 mM heme-iron is ingested into the midgut lumen. While heme acts as both a nutrient and signaling molecule during blood digestion, it can also be highly toxic if left unchaperoned. Both signaling by, and degradation of, heme are intracellular processes, occurring in the nucleus and cytoplasm, respectively. However, the precise mechanism of heme uptake into the midgut epithelium is not currently known. Results We used next generation RNA sequencing with the goal to identify genes that code for membrane bound heme import protein(s) responsible for heme uptake into the midgut epithelium. Heme deprivation increased uptake of a heme fluorescent analog in cultured cells, while treatment of midguts with an excess of heme decreased uptake, confirming physiological changes were occurring in these heme-sensitive cells/tissues prior to sequencing. A list of candidate genes was assembled for each of the experimental sample sets, which included Aag2 and A20 cultured cells as well as midgut tissue, based on the results of a differential expression analysis, soft cluster analysis and number of predicted transmembrane domains. Lastly, the functions related to heme transport were examined through RNAi knockdown. Conclusions Despite a large number of transmembrane domain containing genes differentially expressed in response to heme, very few were highly differentially expressed in any of the datasets examined. RNAi knockdown of a subset of candidates resulted in subtle changes in heme uptake, but minimal overall disruption to blood digestion/egg production. These results could indicate that heme import in Ae. aegypti may be controlled by a redundant system of multiple distinct transport proteins. Alternatively, heme membrane bound transport in Ae. aegypti could be regulated post-translationally.
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Shin D, Kang S, Smartt CT. Profiling Transcripts of Vector Competence between Two Different Aedes aegypti Populations in Florida. Viruses 2020; 12:v12080823. [PMID: 32751270 PMCID: PMC7472143 DOI: 10.3390/v12080823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
A Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreak in Italy in 2007 spread to include the islands of the Caribbean and most of the Americas and still circulates in Europe and Africa. Florida being close in distance to the Caribbean islands experienced a CHIKV outbreak in 2014 and continues to have a few travel-related cases each year. It is known that different environmental conditions in different regions can result in genetic variation that favor changes in competence to arbovirus. We evaluated the vector competence of Florida Aedes aegypti for CHIKV and determined if there is a geographic component that influences genes involved in CHIKV competence. We utilized a genomic approach to identify the candidate genes using RNA sequencing. The infection and dissemination results showed that field populations were more competent vectors for CHIKV than a lab population. The differentially expressed genes in the two field-collected CHIKV-infected populations, compared to the Rockefeller strain, were related to the Wnt/Notch signaling pathway, with similarity to genes scattered throughout the signaling pathway. This result suggested the possibility of identifying genes involved in the determination of vector competence in different gene pools of Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongyoung Shin
- Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida, Vero Beach, FL 32962, USA
- Correspondence: (D.S.); (C.T.S.)
| | - Seokyoung Kang
- Department of Infectious Disease and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;
| | - Chelsea T. Smartt
- Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida, Vero Beach, FL 32962, USA
- Correspondence: (D.S.); (C.T.S.)
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Hyde J, Correa MA, Hughes GL, Steven B, Brackney DE. Limited influence of the microbiome on the transcriptional profile of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10880. [PMID: 32616765 PMCID: PMC7331810 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67811-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The microbiome is an assemblage of microorganisms living in association with a multicellular host. Numerous studies have identified a role for the microbiome in host physiology, development, immunity, and behaviour. The generation of axenic (germ-free) and gnotobiotic model systems has been vital to dissecting the role of the microbiome in host biology. We have previously reported the generation of axenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the primary vector of several human pathogenic viruses, including dengue virus and Zika virus. In order to better understand the influence of the microbiome on mosquitoes, we examined the transcriptomes of axenic and conventionally reared Ae. aegypti before and after a blood meal. Our results suggest that the microbiome has a much lower effect on the mosquito's gene expression than previously thought with only 170 genes influenced by the axenic state, while in contrast, blood meal status influenced 809 genes. The pattern of expression influenced by the microbiome is consistent with transient changes similar to infection rather than sweeping physiological changes. While the microbiome does seem to affect some pathways such as immune function and metabolism, our data suggest the microbiome is primarily serving a nutritional role in development with only minor effects in the adult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Hyde
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Maria A Correa
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Grant L Hughes
- Department of Pathology, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Tropical Diseases, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA
- Departments of Vector Biology and Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, UK
| | - Blaire Steven
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Doug E Brackney
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Center for Vector Biology and Zoonotic Diseases, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA.
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35
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Ferreira PG, Tesla B, Horácio ECA, Nahum LA, Brindley MA, de Oliveira Mendes TA, Murdock CC. Temperature Dramatically Shapes Mosquito Gene Expression With Consequences for Mosquito-Zika Virus Interactions. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:901. [PMID: 32595607 PMCID: PMC7303344 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vector-borne flaviviruses are emerging threats to human health. For successful transmission, the virus needs to efficiently enter mosquito cells and replicate within and escape several tissue barriers while mosquitoes elicit major transcriptional responses to flavivirus infection. This process will be affected not only by the specific mosquito-pathogen pairing but also by variation in key environmental variables such as temperature. Thus far, few studies have examined the molecular responses triggered by temperature and how these responses modify infection outcomes, despite substantial evidence showing strong relationships between temperature and transmission in a diversity of systems. To define the host transcriptional changes associated with temperature variation during the early infection process, we compared the transcriptome of mosquito midgut samples from mosquitoes exposed to Zika virus (ZIKV) and non-exposed mosquitoes housed at three different temperatures (20, 28, and 36°C). While the high-temperature samples did not show significant changes from those with standard rearing conditions (28°C) 48 h post-exposure, the transcriptome profile of mosquitoes housed at 20°C was dramatically different. The expression of genes most altered by the cooler temperature involved aspects of blood-meal digestion, ROS metabolism, and mosquito innate immunity. Further, we did not find significant differences in the viral RNA copy number between 24 and 48 h post-exposure at 20°C, suggesting that ZIKV replication is limited by cold-induced changes to the mosquito midgut environment. In ZIKV-exposed mosquitoes, vitellogenin, a lipid carrier protein, was most up-regulated at 20°C. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the temperature-triggered transcriptional changes in Aedes aegypti and can be used to further define the molecular mechanisms driven by environmental temperature variation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Blanka Tesla
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Elvira Cynthia Alves Horácio
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Laila Alves Nahum
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Promove College of Technology, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Melinda Ann Brindley
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | | | - Courtney Cuinn Murdock
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Center for Emerging and Global Tropical Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,River Basin Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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36
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Cui Y, Liu P, Mooney BP, Franz AWE. Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Chikungunya Virus-Infected Aedes aegypti Reveals Proteome Modulations Indicative of Persistent Infection. J Proteome Res 2020; 19:2443-2456. [PMID: 32375005 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus (CHIKV) poses a threat to human health in tropical countries throughout the world. The molecular interactions of CHIKV with its mosquito vector Aedes aegypti are not fully understood. Following oral acquisition of CHIKV via salinemeals, we analyzed changes in the proteome of Ae. aegypti in 12 h intervals by label-free quantification using a timsTOF Pro mass spectrometer. For each of the seven time points, between 2647 and 3167 proteins were identified among CHIKV-infected and noninfected mosquito samples, and fewer than 6% of those identified proteins were affected by the virus. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the three pathways, Endocytosis, Oxidative phosphorylation, and Ribosome biogenesis, were enriched during CHIKV infection. On the other hand, three pathways of the cellular RNA machinery and five metabolism related pathways were significantly attenuated in the CHIKV-infected samples. Furthermore, proteins associated with cytoskeleton and vesicular transport, as well as various serine-type endopeptidases and metallo-proteinases, were modulated in the presence of CHIKV. Our study reveals biological pathways and novel proteins interacting with CHIKV in the mosquito. Overall, CHIKV infection caused minor changes to the mosquito proteome demonstrating a high level of adaption between the vector and the virus, essentially coexisting in a nonpathogenic relationship. The mass spectrometry data have been deposited to the MassIVE repository (https://massive.ucsd.edu/ProteoSAFe/dataset.jsp?task=abfd14f7015243c69854731998d55df1) with the data set identifier MSV000085115.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjun Cui
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Pei Liu
- Charles W. Gehrke Proteomics Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Brian P Mooney
- Department of Biochemistry and Charles W. Gehrke Proteomics Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Alexander W E Franz
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
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Heggland EI, Dondrup M, Nilsen F, Eichner C. Host gill attachment causes blood-feeding by the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) chalimus larvae and alters parasite development and transcriptome. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:225. [PMID: 32375890 PMCID: PMC7201535 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04096-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blood-feeding is a common strategy among parasitizing arthropods, including the ectoparasitic salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), feeding off its salmon host's skin and blood. Blood is rich in nutrients, among these iron and heme. These are essential molecules for the louse, yet their oxidative properties render them toxic to cells if not handled appropriately. Blood-feeding might therefore alter parasite gene expression. METHODS We infected Atlantic salmon with salmon louse copepodids and sampled the lice in two different experiments at day 10 and 18 post-infestation. Parasite development and presence of host blood in their intestines were determined. Lice of similar instar age sampled from body parts with differential access to blood, namely from gills versus lice from skin epidermis, were analysed for gene expression by RNA-sequencing in samples taken at day 10 for both experiments and at day 18 for one of the experiments. RESULTS We found that lice started feeding on blood when becoming mobile preadults if sitting on the fish body; however, they may initiate blood-feeding at the chalimus I stage if attached to gills. Lice attached to gills develop at a slower rate. By differential expression analysis, we found 355 transcripts elevated in lice sampled from gills and 202 transcripts elevated in lice sampled from skin consistent in all samplings. Genes annotated with "peptidase activity" were among the ones elevated in lice sampled from gills, while in the other group genes annotated with "phosphorylation" and "phosphatase" were pervasive. Transcripts elevated in lice sampled from gills were often genes relatively highly expressed in the louse intestine compared with other tissues, while this was not the case for transcripts elevated in lice sampled from skin. In both groups, more than half of the transcripts were from genes more highly expressed after attachment. CONCLUSIONS Gill settlement results in an alteration in gene expression and a premature onset of blood-feeding likely causes the parasite to develop at a slower pace.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erna Irene Heggland
- Department of Biological Sciences and Sea Lice Research Centre (SLRC), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Michael Dondrup
- Department of Informatics and Sea Lice Research Centre (SLRC), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Frank Nilsen
- Department of Biological Sciences and Sea Lice Research Centre (SLRC), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Christiane Eichner
- Department of Biological Sciences and Sea Lice Research Centre (SLRC), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
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Fu X, Liu P, Dimopoulos G, Zhu J. Dynamic miRNA-mRNA interactions coordinate gene expression in adult Anopheles gambiae. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008765. [PMID: 32339167 PMCID: PMC7205314 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly recognized as important regulators of many biological processes in mosquitoes, vectors of numerous devastating infectious diseases. Identification of bona fide targets remains the bottleneck for functional studies of miRNAs. In this study, we used CLEAR-CLIP assays to systematically analyze miRNA-mRNA interactions in adult female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Thousands of miRNA-target pairs were captured after direct ligation of the miRNA and its cognate target transcript in endogenous Argonaute–miRNA–mRNA complexes. Using two interactions detected in this manner, miR-309-SIX4 and let-7-kr-h1, we demonstrated the reliability of this experimental approach in identifying in vivo gene regulation by miRNAs. The miRNA-mRNA interaction dataset provided an invaluable opportunity to decipher targeting rules of mosquito miRNAs. Enriched motifs in the diverse targets of each miRNA indicated that the majority of mosquito miRNAs rely on seed-based canonical target recognition, while noncanonical miRNA binding sites are widespread and often contain motifs complementary to the central or 3’ ends of miRNAs. The time-lapse study of miRNA-target interactomes in adult female mosquitoes revealed dynamic miRNA regulation of gene expression in response to varying nutritional sources and physiological demands. Interestingly, some miRNAs exhibited flexibility to use distinct sequences at different stages for target recognition. Furthermore, many miRNA-mRNA interactions displayed stage-specific patterns, especially for those genes involved in metabolism, suggesting that miRNAs play critical roles in precise control of gene expression to cope with enormous physiological demands associated with egg production. The global mapping of miRNA-target interactions contributes to our understanding of miRNA targeting specificity in non-model organisms. It also provides a roadmap for additional studies focused on regulatory functions of miRNAs in Anopheles gambiae. Metazoan miRNAs typically bind to partially complementary sites in their target mRNAs. The interactions between miRNAs and target RNAs are generally stage-specific and context-dependent. Thus, identification of authentic miRNA targets remains a big challenge. Target identification is even more difficult in mosquitoes where miRNA-mRNA pairing rules are poorly characterized. Using an experimental approach, this study captures thousands of endogenous miRNA-target interactions in female mosquitoes at several critical stages during adult reproduction. Analyses of the target sequences reveal how individual miRNAs accomplish their target recognition in mosquitoes. Interestingly, many mosquito miRNAs exhibit flexibility to use distinct sequences at different stages to pair with their targets, greatly altering target selectivity and expanding target repertoire of miRNAs. Drastic changes in mRNA abundance have been previously reported when adult female mosquitoes attend to varying nutritional sources and physiological demands. The temporal patterns of miRNA-target interactions obtained in this study provide new insights into the roles of miRNAs in tightly controlled gene expression associated with blood-feeding and mosquito oogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaonan Fu
- The Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Pengcheng Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - George Dimopoulos
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jinsong Zhu
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Cabral S, de Paula A, Samuels R, da Fonseca R, Gomes S, Silva JR, Mury F. Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Immune Responses with Different Feeding Regimes Following Infection by the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. INSECTS 2020; 11:E95. [PMID: 32024202 PMCID: PMC7074208 DOI: 10.3390/insects11020095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the most notorious vector of illness-causing viruses. The use of entomopathogenic fungi as bioinsecticides is a promising alternative for the development of novel mosquito control strategies. We investigate whether differences in immune responses could be responsible for modifications in survival rates of insects following different feeding regimes. Sucrose and blood-fed adult A. aegypti females were sprayed with M. anisopliae 1 × 106 conidia mL-1, and after 48 h, the midgut and fat body were dissected. We used RT-qPCR to monitor the expression of Cactus and REL1 (Toll pathway), IMD, REL2, and Caspar (IMD pathway), STAT and PIAS (JAK-STAT pathway), as well as the expression of antimicrobial peptides (Defensin A, Attacin and Cecropin G). REL1 and REL2 expression in both the midgut and fat body were higher in blood-fed fungus-challenged A. aegypti than in sucrose-fed counterparts. Interestingly, infection of sucrose-fed insects induced Cactus expression in the fat body, a negative regulator of the Toll pathway. The IMD gene was upregulated in the fat body in response to fungal infection after a blood meal. Additionally, we observed the induction of antimicrobial peptides in the blood-fed fungus-challenged insects. This study suggests that blood-fed A. aegypti are less susceptible to fungal infection due to the rapid induction of Toll and IMD immune pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Cabral
- Laboratório Integrado de Bioquímica—Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade—NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ 27965-045, Brazil; (S.C.); (J.R.S.)
| | - Adriano de Paula
- Laboratório de Entomologia e Fitopatologia—CCTA, Universidade Estadual do Norte FluminenseDarcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-603, Brazil; (A.d.P.); (S.G.)
| | - Richard Samuels
- Laboratório de Entomologia e Fitopatologia—CCTA, Universidade Estadual do Norte FluminenseDarcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-603, Brazil; (A.d.P.); (S.G.)
| | - Rodrigo da Fonseca
- Laboratório Integrado de Ciências Morfofuncionais—Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade –NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ 27965-045, Brazil;
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular—INCT-EM, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
| | - Simone Gomes
- Laboratório de Entomologia e Fitopatologia—CCTA, Universidade Estadual do Norte FluminenseDarcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-603, Brazil; (A.d.P.); (S.G.)
| | - José Roberto Silva
- Laboratório Integrado de Bioquímica—Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade—NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ 27965-045, Brazil; (S.C.); (J.R.S.)
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular—INCT-EM, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
| | - Flávia Mury
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular—INCT-EM, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil
- Laboratório Integrado de Biociências Translacionais—Instituto de Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade—NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé, RJ 27965-045, Brazil
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40
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Latorre-Estivalis JM, Sterkel M, Ons S, Lorenzo MG. Transcriptomics supports local sensory regulation in the antenna of the kissing-bug Rhodnius prolixus. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:101. [PMID: 32000664 PMCID: PMC6993403 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-6514-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Rhodnius prolixus has become a model for revealing the molecular bases of insect sensory biology due to the publication of its genome and its well-characterized behavioural repertoire. Gene expression modulation underlies behaviour-triggering processes at peripheral and central levels. Still, the regulation of sensory-related gene transcription in sensory organs is poorly understood. Here we study the genetic bases of plasticity in antennal sensory function, using R. prolixus as an insect model. Results Antennal expression of neuromodulatory genes such as those coding for neuropeptides, neurohormones and their receptors was characterized in fifth instar larvae and female and male adults by means of RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq). New nuclear receptor and takeout gene sequences were identified for this species, as well as those of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and processing of neuropeptides and biogenic amines. Conclusions We report a broad repertoire of neuromodulatory and neuroendocrine-related genes expressed in the antennae of R. prolixus and suggest that they may serve as the local basis for modulation of sensory neuron physiology. Diverse neuropeptide precursor genes showed consistent expression in the antennae of all stages studied. Future studies should characterize the role of these modulatory components acting over antennal sensory processes to assess the relative contribution of peripheral and central regulatory systems on the plastic expression of insect behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Manuel Latorre-Estivalis
- Vector Behaviour and Pathogen Interaction Group, Instituto René Rachou - FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. .,Laboratorio de Neurobiología de Insectos - Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos - CREG, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Marcos Sterkel
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de Insectos - Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos - CREG, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sheila Ons
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de Insectos - Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos - CREG, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Gustavo Lorenzo
- Vector Behaviour and Pathogen Interaction Group, Instituto René Rachou - FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Castillo-Méndez M, Valverde-Garduño V. Aedes aegypti Immune Response and Its Potential Impact on Dengue Virus Transmission. Viral Immunol 2019; 33:38-47. [PMID: 31738698 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2019.0051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) transmission to human populations requires infection of vector mosquitoes as an essential component of the transmission process. DENV transmission leads to infections that range from asymptomatic to life-threatening pathologies, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Aedes aegypti is the principal vector of DENV, and its vector competence consists of the intrinsic factors, genes, molecules, and pathways that allow infection, replication, and dissemination of this virus throughout the cells of mosquito tissues. In the search for mosquito molecular targets to block DENV transmission, the effect of DENV infection on mosquitoes has been an important focus of research. In this study, we review the findings of research on the effect of DENV infection on mosquito tissue cells and the immunity pathways and molecules that are involved in this infection. We emphasize the relevance of recent findings to understand the relationship between Ae. aegypti immune response, vector competence, and DENV transmission to human hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Castillo-Méndez
- Departamento de Infección e Inmunidad, Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México.,Escuela de Salud Pública de México, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México
| | - Verónica Valverde-Garduño
- Departamento de Infección e Inmunidad, Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México.,Escuela de Salud Pública de México, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México
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Transcriptomic analysis of insecticide resistance in the lymphatic filariasis vector Culex quinquefasciatus. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11406. [PMID: 31388075 PMCID: PMC6684662 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47850-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Culex quinquefasciatus plays an important role in transmission of vector-borne diseases of public health importance, including lymphatic filariasis (LF), as well as many arboviral diseases. Currently, efforts to tackle C. quinquefasciatus vectored diseases are based on either mass drug administration (MDA) for LF, or insecticide-based interventions. Widespread and intensive insecticide usage has resulted in increased resistance in mosquito vectors, including C. quinquefasciatus. Herein, the transcriptome profile of Ugandan bendiocarb-resistant C. quinquefasciatus was explored to identify candidate genes associated with insecticide resistance. High levels of insecticide resistance were observed for five out of six insecticides tested, with the lowest mortality (0.97%) reported to permethrin, while for DDT, lambdacyhalothrin, bendiocarb and deltamethrin the mortality rate ranged from 1.63-3.29%. Resistance to bendiocarb in exposed mosquitoes was marked, with 2.04% mortality following 1 h exposure and 58.02% after 4 h. Genotyping of the G119S Ace-1 target site mutation detected a highly significant association (p < 0.0001; OR = 25) between resistance and Ace1-119S. However, synergist assays using the P450 inhibitor PBO, or the esterase inhibitor TPP resulted in markedly increased mortality (to ≈80%), suggesting a role of metabolic resistance in the resistance phenotype. Using a novel, custom 60 K whole-transcriptome microarray 16 genes significantly overexpressed in resistant mosquitoes were detected, with the P450 Cyp6z18 showing the highest differential gene expression (>8-fold increase vs unexposed controls). These results provide evidence that bendiocarb resistance in Ugandan C. quinquefasciatus is mediated by both target-site mechanisms and over-expression of detoxification enzymes.
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Hegedus DD, Toprak U, Erlandson M. Peritrophic matrix formation. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2019; 117:103898. [PMID: 31211963 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.103898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Dwayne D Hegedus
- Molecular Genetics Section, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
| | - Umut Toprak
- Molecular Genetics Section, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Molecular Entomology Laboratory, College of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Martin Erlandson
- Molecular Genetics Section, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Benoit JB, Lazzari CR, Denlinger DL, Lahondère C. Thermoprotective adaptations are critical for arthropods feeding on warm-blooded hosts. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 34:7-11. [PMID: 31247421 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Blood feeding in arthropods has evolved in multiple lineages. This feeding preference provides a source of ample proteins and lipids for egg production and survival, but ingestion of a large warm blood-meal can boost the arthropod's body temperature 15°-20°C within seconds to minutes. This represents one of, if not the most, rapid thermal change documented under a natural setting. Here, we describe mechanisms of thermoregulation and thermotolerance in arthropods during blood feeding. The ability to prevent blood-induced thermal damage is a fundamental physiological adaptation linked to the use of warm-blooded vertebrates as food sources. Specific functional and comparative studies have identified unique and divergent mechanisms that suppress or repair thermal stress during blood feeding. These mechanisms include countercurrent heat exchange, evaporative cooling, and upregulation of stress associated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua B Benoit
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Claudio R Lazzari
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, Université de Tours, France
| | - David L Denlinger
- Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Chloé Lahondère
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
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Li J, Chen Q, Man Y, Pei D, Wu W. Variant Ionotropic Receptors are Expressed in the Antennae of Anopheles sinensis (Diptera: Culicidae). Biochem Genet 2019; 57:571-582. [PMID: 30737589 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-019-09910-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Mosquitoes transmit many harmful diseases that seriously threaten public health. The mosquito's olfactory system is of great significance for host selection. Inotropic receptors (IRs) and olfactory receptors (ORs) have been demonstrated to be capable of odorant molecular recognition. Analyzing the molecular principles of mosquito olfaction facilitates the development of prevention and therapy techniques. Advances in the understanding of IRs have been seriously inadequate compared to those of ORs. Here, we provide evidence that 35 Anopheles sinensis IR (AsIR) genes are expressed, 7 of which are in the antennae and 2 have expression levels that are upregulated with a blood meal. A homologous analysis of the sequences showed that AsIRs are a subfamily of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGLURs). This is the first that time IRs have been identified in Anopheles sinensis in vitro. The ultrastructure of the antennae supports the theory that diverse sensilla are distributed in the antennae. The results here may facilitate the revelation of the regulation mechanism in AsIRs, which could mitigate the transmission of diseases by mosquitoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianyong Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, National University of Defense Technology, No. 109 Deya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, National University of Defense Technology, No. 109 Deya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yahui Man
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, National University of Defense Technology, No. 109 Deya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Di Pei
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, National University of Defense Technology, No. 109 Deya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Wenjian Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, National University of Defense Technology, No. 109 Deya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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Mongkol W, Nguitragool W, Sattabongkot J, Kubera A. Blood-induced differential gene expression in Anopheles dirus evaluated using RNA sequencing. MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 32:399-406. [PMID: 29885058 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Malaria parasites are transmitted through blood feeding by female Anopheline mosquitoes. Unveiling the blood-feeding process will improve understanding of vector biology. Anopheles dirus (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the primary malaria vectors in the Greater Mekong Subregion, the epicentre of malaria drug resistance. In this study, differential gene expression between sugar- and blood-fed An. dirus was investigated by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). A total of 589 transcripts were found to be upregulated and 703 transcripts downregulated as a result of blood feeding. Transcriptional differences were found in genes involved in blood digestion, peritrophic matrix formation, oogenesis and vitellogenesis. The expression levels of several genes were validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The present results provide better understanding of An. dirus biology in relation to its blood feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Mongkol
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - W Nguitragool
- Department of Molecular Tropical Medicine and Genetics, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - J Sattabongkot
- Mahidol Vivax Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - A Kubera
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Tropical Natural Resources, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
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Ioshino RS, Carvalho DO, Marques ICS, Fernandes ES, Capurro ML, Costa-da-Silva AL. Oviplate: A Convenient and Space-Saving Method to Perform Individual Oviposition Assays in Aedes aegypti. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9030103. [PMID: 30111702 PMCID: PMC6164622 DOI: 10.3390/insects9030103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Aedes aegypti is the principal vector of the urban arboviruses and the blood ingestion is important to produce the eggs in this species. To analyze the egg production in Ae. aegypti, researchers frequently use small cages or Drosophila vials to collect eggs from gravid females. Although it is affordable, the setup is time- and space-consuming, mainly when many mosquitoes need to be individually analyzed. This study presents an easy, cheap, and space-saving method to perform individual oviposition assays in Ae. aegypti using cell culture plates. This new method to access fecundity rate was named “oviplate”. The oviplates are setup with 12- or 24-well plates, distilled water and filter paper and they are 78 to 88% cheaper than the traditional Drosophila vial assay, respectively. Furthermore, to allocate 72 vitellogenic females in an insectary using Drosophila vial is necessary 4100 cm3 against 1400 cm3 and 700 cm3 when using 12- and 24-well plates, respectively. No statistical differences were found between the number of eggs laid in Drosophila vials and the oviplates, validating the method. The oviplate method is an affordable, and time- and space-efficient device, and it is simpler to perform individual fecundity analyses in Ae. aegypti.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaella Sayuri Ioshino
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Danilo Oliveira Carvalho
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Isabel Cristina Santos Marques
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Ediane Saraiva Fernandes
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Margareth Lara Capurro
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - André Luis Costa-da-Silva
- Laboratório de Mosquitos Geneticamente Modificados, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil.
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Kumar A, Srivastava P, Sirisena P, Dubey SK, Kumar R, Shrinet J, Sunil S. Mosquito Innate Immunity. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9030095. [PMID: 30096752 PMCID: PMC6165528 DOI: 10.3390/insects9030095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Mosquitoes live under the endless threat of infections from different kinds of pathogens such as bacteria, parasites, and viruses. The mosquito defends itself by employing both physical and physiological barriers that resist the entry of the pathogen and the subsequent establishment of the pathogen within the mosquito. However, if the pathogen does gain entry into the insect, the insect mounts a vigorous innate cellular and humoral immune response against the pathogen, thereby limiting the pathogen's propagation to nonpathogenic levels. This happens through three major mechanisms: phagocytosis, melanization, and lysis. During these processes, various signaling pathways that engage intense mosquito⁻pathogen interactions are activated. A critical overview of the mosquito immune system and latest information about the interaction between mosquitoes and pathogens are provided in this review. The conserved, innate immune pathways and specific anti-pathogenic strategies in mosquito midgut, hemolymph, salivary gland, and neural tissues for the control of pathogen propagation are discussed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Kumar
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Priyanshu Srivastava
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Pdnn Sirisena
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Sunil Kumar Dubey
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Ramesh Kumar
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Jatin Shrinet
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
| | - Sujatha Sunil
- Vector Borne Diseases Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi-110067, India.
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49
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Prud'homme SM, Renault D, David JP, Reynaud S. Multiscale Approach to Deciphering the Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the Direct and Intergenerational Effect of Ibuprofen on Mosquito Aedes aegypti. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:7937-7950. [PMID: 29874051 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The anti-inflammatory ibuprofen is a ubiquitous surface water contaminant. However, the chronic impact of this pharmaceutical on aquatic invertebrate populations remains poorly understood. In model insect Aedes aegypti, we investigated the intergenerational consequences of parental chronic exposure to an environmentally relevant concentration of ibuprofen. While exposed individuals did not show any phenotypic changes, their progeny showed accelerated development and an increased tolerance to starvation. In order to understand the mechanistic processes underpinning the direct and intergenerational impacts of ibuprofen, we combined transcriptomic, metabolomics, and hormone kinetics studies at several life stages in exposed individuals and their progeny. This integrative approach revealed moderate transcriptional changes in exposed larvae consistent with the pharmacological mode of action of ibuprofen. Parental exposure led to lower levels of several polar metabolites in progeny eggs and to major transcriptional changes in the following larval stage. These transcriptional changes, most likely driven by changes in the expression of numerous transcription factors and epigenetic regulators, led to ecdysone signaling and stress response potentiation. Overall, the present study illustrates the complexity of the molecular basis of the intergenerational pollutant response in insects and the importance of considering the entire life cycle of exposed organisms and of their progeny in order to fully understand the mode of action of pollutants and their impact on ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie M Prud'homme
- Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA , 38000 Grenoble , France
| | - David Renault
- Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, Campus de Beaulieu, 263 Avenue du Gal Leclerc, CS 74205 , 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
- Institut Universitaire de France , 1 rue Descartes , 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Jean-Philippe David
- Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA , 38000 Grenoble , France
| | - Stéphane Reynaud
- Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA , 38000 Grenoble , France
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50
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Whiten SR, Ray WK, Helm RF, Adelman ZN. Characterization of the adult Aedes aegypti early midgut peritrophic matrix proteome using LC-MS. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194734. [PMID: 29570734 PMCID: PMC5865745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the principal vector of arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika virus. These arboviruses are transmitted during adult female mosquito bloodfeeding. While these viruses must transverse the midgut to replicate, the blood meal must also reach the midgut to be digested, absorbed, or excreted, as aggregation of blood meal metabolites can be toxic to the female mosquito midgut. The midgut peritrophic matrix (PM), a semipermeable extracellular layer comprised of chitin fibrils, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans, is one such mechanism of protection for the mosquito midgut. However, this structure has not been characterized for adult female Ae. aegypti. We conducted a mass spectrometry based proteomic analysis to identify proteins that comprise or are associated with the adult female Ae. aegypti early midgut PM. Altogether, 474 unique proteins were identified, with 115 predicted as secreted. GO-term enrichment analysis revealed an abundance of serine-type proteases and several known and novel intestinal mucins. In addition, approximately 10% of the peptides identified corresponded to known salivary proteins, indicating Ae. aegypti mosquitoes extensively swallow their own salivary secretions. However, the physiological relevance of this remains unclear, and further studies are needed to determine PM proteins integral for midgut protection from blood meal derived toxicity and pathogen protection. Finally, we describe substantial discordance between previously described transcriptionally changes observed in the midgut in response to a bloodmeal and the presence of the corresponding protein in the PM. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD007627.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shavonn R. Whiten
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - W. Keith Ray
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Richard F. Helm
- Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Zach N. Adelman
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
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