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Da Lage JL, Fontenelle A, Filée J, Merle M, Béranger JM, Almeida CE, Folly Ramos E, Harry M. Evidence that hematophagous triatomine bugs may eat plants in the wild. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 165:104059. [PMID: 38101706 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.104059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Blood feeding is a secondary adaptation in hematophagous bugs. Many proteins are secreted in the saliva that are devoted to coping with the host's defense and to process the blood meal. Digestive enzymes that are no longer required for a blood meal would be expected to be eventually lost. Yet, in many strictly hematophagous arthropods, α-amylase genes, which encode the enzymes that digest starch from plants, are still present and transcribed, including in the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) and its related species, which transmit the Chagas disease. We hypothesized that retaining α-amylase could be advantageous if the bugs occasionally consume plant tissues. We first checked that the α-amylase protein of Rhodnius robustus retains normal amylolytic activity. Then we surveyed hundreds of gut DNA extracts from the sylvatic R. robustus to detect traces of plants. We found plant DNA in 8% of the samples, mainly identified as Attalea palm trees, where R. robustus are usually found. We suggest that although of secondary importance in the blood-sucking bugs, α-amylase may be needed during occasional plant feeding and thus has been retained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Luc Da Lage
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Alice Fontenelle
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Jonathan Filée
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie Merle
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Jean-Michel Béranger
- Département Systématique and Evolution, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; IRD, AP-HM, SSA, VITROME, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Carlos Eduardo Almeida
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Elaine Folly Ramos
- Departamento de Engenharia e Meio Ambiente - DEMA, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Myriam Harry
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Rhimi M, Da Lage JL, Haser R, Feller G, Aghajari N. Structural and Functional Characterization of Drosophila melanogaster α-Amylase. Molecules 2023; 28:5327. [PMID: 37513201 PMCID: PMC10384113 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28145327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects rely on carbohydrates such as starch and glycogen as an energy supply for growth of larvae and for longevity. In this sense α-amylases have essential roles under extreme conditions, e.g., during nutritional or temperature stress, thereby contributing to survival of the insect. This makes them interesting targets for combating insect pests. Drosophila melanogaster α-amylase, DMA, which belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 13, sub family 15, has been studied from an evolutionary, biochemical, and structural point of view. Our studies revealed that the DMA enzyme is active over a broad temperature and pH range, which is in agreement with the fluctuating environmental changes with which the insect is confronted. Crystal structures disclosed a new nearly fully solvated metal ion, only coordinated to the protein via Gln263. This residue is only conserved in the subgroup of D. melanogaster and may thus contribute to the enzyme adaptive response to large temperature variations. Studies of the effect of plant inhibitors and the pseudo-tetrasaccharide inhibitor acarbose on DMA activity, allowed us to underline the important role of the so-called flexible loop on activity/inhibition, but also to suggest that the inhibition modes of the wheat inhibitors WI-1 and WI-3 on DMA, are likely different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moez Rhimi
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR5086, CNRS, University of Lyon 1, 7 Passage du Vercors, F-69367 Lyon, CEDEX 07, France
| | - Jean-Luc Da Lage
- Evolution, Génomes, Comportement, Ecologie, UMR 9191 University Paris-Saclay-CNRS-IRD, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Richard Haser
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR5086, CNRS, University of Lyon 1, 7 Passage du Vercors, F-69367 Lyon, CEDEX 07, France
| | - Georges Feller
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Center for Protein Engineering-InBioS, Institute of Chemistry B6a, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
| | - Nushin Aghajari
- Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, UMR5086, CNRS, University of Lyon 1, 7 Passage du Vercors, F-69367 Lyon, CEDEX 07, France
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Feller G, Bonneau M, Da Lage JL. Amyrel, a novel glucose-forming α-amylase from Drosophila with 4-α-glucanotransferase activity by disproportionation and hydrolysis of maltooligosaccharides. Glycobiology 2021; 31:1134-1144. [PMID: 33978737 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwab036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The α-amylase paralogue Amyrel present in true flies (Diptera Muscomorpha) has been classified as a glycoside hydrolase in CAZy family GH13 on the basis of its primary structure. Here we report that, in fact, Amyrel is currently unique amongst Animals as it possesses both the hydrolytic α-amylase activity (EC 3.2.1.1) and a 4-α-glucanotransferase (EC 2.4.1.25) transglycosylation activity. Amyrel reacts specifically on α-(1-4) glycosidic bonds of starch and related polymers but produces a complex mixture of maltooligosaccharides, in sharp contrast with canonical animal α-amylases. With model maltooligosaccharides G2 (maltose) to G7, the Amyrel reaction starts by a disproportionation leading to Gn-1 and Gn + 1 products, which become themselves substrates for new disproportionation cycles. As a result, all detectable odd- and even-numbered maltooligosaccharides at least up to G12 were observed. However, hydrolysis of these products proceeds simultaneously, as shown by p-nitrophenyl-tagged oligosaccharides and microcalorimetry, and upon prolonged reaction, glucose is the major end product followed by maltose. The main structural determinant of these atypical activities was found to be a Gly-His-Gly-Ala deletion in the so-called flexible loop bordering the active site. Indeed, engineering this deletion in pig pancreatic and D. melanogaster α-amylases results in reaction patterns similar to those of Amyrel. It is proposed that this deletion provides more freedom to the substrate for subsites occupancy and allows a less constrained action pattern resulting in versatile activities at the active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georges Feller
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Center for Protein Engineering-InBioS, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège-Sart Tilman, Belgium
| | - Magalie Bonneau
- UMR 9191 Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, IRD, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Jean-Luc Da Lage
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Center for Protein Engineering-InBioS, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège-Sart Tilman, Belgium.,UMR 9191 Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, IRD, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Wang Y, Wang G, Moitessier N, Mittermaier AK. Enzyme Kinetics by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry: Allostery, Inhibition, and Dynamics. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:583826. [PMID: 33195429 PMCID: PMC7604385 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.583826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) involves accurately measuring the heat that is released or absorbed in real time when one solution is titrated into another. This technique is usually used to measure the thermodynamics of binding reactions. However, there is mounting interest in using it to measure reaction kinetics, particularly enzymatic catalysis. This application of ITC has been steadily growing for the past two decades, and the method is proving to be sensitive, generally applicable, and capable of providing information on enzyme activity that is difficult to obtain using traditional biochemical assays. This review aims to give a broad overview of the use of ITC to measure enzyme kinetics. It describes several different classes of ITC experiment, their strengths and weaknesses, and recent methodological advancements. A summary of applications in the literature is given and several examples where ITC has been used to investigate challenging aspects of enzyme behavior are presented in more detail. These include examples of allostery, where small-molecule binding outside the active site modulates activity. We describe the use of ITC to measure the strength, mode (i.e., competitive, uncompetitive, or mixed), and association and dissociation kinetics of enzyme inhibitors. Further, we provide examples of ITC applied to complex, heterogeneous mixtures, such as insoluble substrates and live cells. These studies exemplify the wide range of problems where ITC can provide answers, and illustrate the versatility of the technique and potential for future development and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Wang
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Guanyu Wang
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Da Lage JL. The Amylases of Insects. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 10:1179543318804783. [PMID: 30305796 PMCID: PMC6176531 DOI: 10.1177/1179543318804783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Alpha-amylases are major digestive enzymes that act in the first step of maltopolysaccharide digestion. In insects, these enzymes have long been studied for applied as well as purely scientific purposes. In many species, amylases are produced by multiple gene copies. Rare species are devoid of Amy gene. They are predominantly secreted in the midgut but salivary expression is also frequent, with extraoral activity. Enzymological parameters are quite variable among insects, with visible trends according to phylogeny: Coleopteran amylases have acidic optimum activity, whereas dipteran amylases have neutral preference and lepidopteran ones have clear alkaline preference. The enzyme structure shows interesting variations shaped by evolutionary convergences, such as the recurrent loss of a loop involved in substrate handling. Many works have focused on the action of plant amylase inhibitors on pest insect amylases, in the frame of crop protection by transgenesis. It appears that sensitivity or resistance to inhibitors is finely tuned and very specific and that amylases and their inhibitors have coevolved. The multicopy feature of insect amylases appears to allow tissue-specific or stage-specific regulation, but also to broaden enzymological abilities, such as pH range, and to overcome plant inhibitory defenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Luc Da Lage
- UMR 9191 Évolution, Génomes, Comportement, Écologie,
CNRS, IRD, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette,
France
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Bichang’a G, Da Lage JL, Capdevielle-Dulac C, Zivy M, Balliau T, Sambai K, Le Ru B, Kaiser L, Juma G, Maina ENM, Calatayud PA. α-Amylase Mediates Host Acceptance in the Braconid Parasitoid Cotesia flavipes. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:1030-1039. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-1002-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Staats S, Lüersen K, Wagner AE, Rimbach G. Drosophila melanogaster as a Versatile Model Organism in Food and Nutrition Research. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2018; 66:3737-3753. [PMID: 29619822 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster has been widely used in the biological sciences as a model organism. Drosophila has a relatively short life span of 60-80 days, which makes it attractive for life span studies. Moreover, approximately 60% of the fruit fly genes are orthologs to mammals. Thus, metabolic and signal transduction pathways are highly conserved. Maintenance and reproduction of Drosophila do not require sophisticated equipment and are rather cheap. Furthermore, there are fewer ethical issues involved in experimental Drosophila research compared with studies in laboratory rodents, such as rats and mice. Drosophila is increasingly recognized as a model organism in food and nutrition research. Drosophila is often fed complex solid diets based on yeast, corn, and agar. There are also so-called holidic diets available that are defined in terms of their amino acid, fatty acid, carbohydrate, vitamin, mineral, and trace element compositions. Feed intake, body composition, locomotor activity, intestinal barrier function, microbiota, cognition, fertility, aging, and life span can be systematically determined in Drosophila in response to dietary factors. Furthermore, diet-induced pathophysiological mechanisms including inflammation and stress responses may be evaluated in the fly under defined experimental conditions. Here, we critically evaluate Drosophila melanogaster as a versatile model organism in experimental food and nutrition research, review the corresponding data in the literature, and make suggestions for future directions of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Staats
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science , University of Kiel , Hermann-Rodewald-Strasse 6 , D-24118 Kiel , Germany
| | - Kai Lüersen
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science , University of Kiel , Hermann-Rodewald-Strasse 6 , D-24118 Kiel , Germany
| | - Anika E Wagner
- Institute of Nutritional Medicine , University of Lübeck , Ratzeburger Allee 160 , D-23538 Lübeck , Germany
| | - Gerald Rimbach
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science , University of Kiel , Hermann-Rodewald-Strasse 6 , D-24118 Kiel , Germany
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Claisse G, Feller G, Bonneau M, Da Lage JL. A single amino-acid substitution toggles chloride dependence of the alpha-amylase paralog amyrel in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila virilis species. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 75:70-77. [PMID: 27312592 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2015] [Revised: 06/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In animals, most α-amylases are chloride-dependent enzymes. A chloride ion is required for allosteric activation and is coordinated by one asparagine and two arginine side chains. Whereas the asparagine and one arginine are strictly conserved, the main chloride binding arginine is replaced by a glutamine in some rare instances, resulting in the loss of chloride binding and activation. Amyrel is a distant paralogue of α-amylase in Diptera, which was not characterized biochemically to date. Amyrel shows both substitutions depending on the species. In Drosophila melanogaster, an arginine is present in the sequence but in Drosophila virilis, a glutamine occurs at this position. We have investigated basic enzymological parameters and the dependence to chloride of Amyrel of both species, produced in yeast, and in mutants substituting arginine to glutamine or glutamine to arginine. We found that the amylolytic activity of Amyrel is about thirty times weaker than the classical Drosophila α-amylase, and that the substitution of the arginine by a glutamine in D. melanogaster suppressed the chloride-dependence but was detrimental to activity. In contrast, changing the glutamine into an arginine rendered D. virilis Amyrel chloride-dependent, and interestingly, significantly increased its catalytic efficiency. These results show that the chloride ion is not mandatory for Amyrel but stimulates the reaction rate. The possible phylogenetic origin of the arginine/glutamine substitution is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaëlle Claisse
- UMR 9191 Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Univ. Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France
| | - Georges Feller
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Center for Protein Engineering, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège-Sart Tilman, Belgium
| | - Magalie Bonneau
- UMR 9191 Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Univ. Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France
| | - Jean-Luc Da Lage
- UMR 9191 Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Univ. Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
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