Species and sex-specific chemosensory gene expression in Anopheles coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus antennae

Abstract Because of its importance as a malaria vector, Anopheles coluzzii’s Coetzee & Wilkerson olfactory system has been studied extensively. Among this work is a series of studies comparing the expression of chemosensory genes in olfactory organs in females and/or males of these species. These have identified species- and female-biased chemosensory gene expression patterns. However, many questions remain about the role of chemosensation in male anopheline biology. To pave the way for future work we used RNAseq to compare chemosensory gene expression in the male maxillary palps of An. coluzzii and its sibling species An. quadriannulatus Theobald. As expected, the chemosensory gene repertoire is small in the male maxillary palps. Both species express the tuning receptors Or8 and Or28 at relatively high levels. The CO2 receptor genes Gr22-Gr24 are present in both species as well, although at much lower level than in females. Additionally, several chemoreceptors are species-specific. Gr37 and Gr52 are exclusive to An. coluzzii, whereas Or9 and Gr60 were detected only in An. quadriannulatus. Furthermore, several chemosensory genes show differential expression between the two species. Finally, several Irs, Grs, and Obps that show strong differential expression in the female palps, are absent or lowly expressed in the male palps. While many questions remain about the role of chemosensation in anopheline male biology, these results suggest that the male maxillary palps could have both a sex- and species-specific role in the perception of chemical stimuli. This work may guide future studies on the role of the male maxillary palp in these species.

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A survey of chemosensory gene expression patterns within the vampire moth genusCalyptraOchsenheimer (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Calpinae)

10.1603/ice.2016.112580 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Julia L Snyder

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Gene Expression Patterns ◽

Chemosensory Gene

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Retraction Note: Species-specific chemosensory gene expression in the olfactory organs of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-015-1802-z ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Theresa K Hodges ◽

Luciano V Cosme ◽

Giridhar Athrey ◽

Sharmila Pathikonda ◽

Willem Takken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Anopheles Gambiae ◽

Malaria Vector ◽

Chemosensory Gene ◽

Olfactory Organs ◽

Species Specific

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Sex- and tissue-specific profiles of chemosensory gene expression in a herbivorous gall-inducing fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/1471-2164-15-501 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 501 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Martin N Andersson ◽

Elin Videvall ◽

Kimberly KO Walden ◽

Marion O Harris ◽

Hugh M Robertson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Chemosensory Gene

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Influence of genetic polymorphism on transcriptional enhancer activity in the malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-51730-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Luisa Nardini ◽

Inge Holm ◽

Adrien Pain ◽

Emmanuel Bischoff ◽

Daryl M. Gohl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Malaria Vector ◽

Functional Activity ◽

Regulatory Elements ◽

Transmission Efficiency ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Anopheles Coluzzii ◽

Transcriptional Enhancer ◽

Enhancer Activity ◽

Enhancer Sequences

Abstract Enhancers are cis-regulatory elements that control most of the developmental and spatial gene expression in eukaryotes. Genetic variation of enhancer sequences is known to influence phenotypes, but the effect of enhancer variation upon enhancer functional activity and downstream phenotypes has barely been examined in any species. In the African malaria vector, Anopheles coluzzii, we identified candidate enhancers in the proximity of genes relevant for immunity, insecticide resistance, and development. The candidate enhancers were functionally validated using luciferase reporter assays, and their activity was found to be essentially independent of their physical orientation, a typical property of enhancers. All of the enhancers segregated genetically polymorphic alleles, which displayed significantly different levels of functional activity. Deletion mutagenesis and functional testing revealed a fine structure of positive and negative regulatory elements that modulate activity of the enhancer core. Enhancer polymorphisms segregate in wild A. coluzzii populations in West Africa. Thus, enhancer variants that modify target gene expression leading to likely phenotypic consequences are frequent in nature. These results demonstrate the existence of naturally polymorphic A. coluzzii enhancers, which may help explain important differences between individuals or populations for malaria transmission efficiency and vector adaptation to the environment.

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Chemosensory Gene Expression for Two Closely Relative Species Rhodnius robustus and R. prolixus (Hemiptera, Reduviidade, Triatominae) Vectors of Chagas Disease

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.725504 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Axelle Marchant ◽

Florence Mougel ◽

Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly ◽

Carlos E. Almeida ◽

Denis Blanchet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Chagas Disease ◽

Large Set ◽

Gene Expression Study ◽

Expression Study ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Chemosensory Gene ◽

Chemosensory Perception ◽

Differential Gene ◽

Rhodnius Robustus

Two closely related species, Rhodnius prolixus and Rhodnius robustus, are the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the causative agent of Chagas disease, but clearly exhibit clear-cut differences in their ecological behavior. R. prolixus is considered as a domiciliated species, whereas R. robustus only sporadically visits human houses in Amazonia. We performed a chemosensory gene expression study via RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) for the two species and also included a laboratory introgressed R. robustus strain. We built an assembled transcriptome for each sample and for both sexes and compiled all in a reference transcriptome for a differential gene expression study. Because the genes specifically expressed in one condition and not expressed in another may also reflect differences in the adaptation of organisms, a comparative study of the presence/absence of transcripts was also performed for the chemosensory transcripts, namely chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs), and ionotropic receptors (IRs), as well as takeout (TO) transcripts because TO proteins have been proposed to be associated with chemosensory perception in both olfactory and taste systems. In this study, 12 novel TO transcripts from the R. prolixus genome were annotated. Among the 199 transcripts, out of interest, annotated in this study, 93% were conserved between R. prolixus and the sylvatic R. robustus. Moreover, 10 transcripts out of interest were specifically expressed in one sex and absent in another. Three chemosensory transcripts were found to be expressed only in the reared R. prolixus (CSP19, OBP9, and OR89) and only one in sylvatic R. robustus (OR22). A large set of transcripts were found to be differentially expressed (DE) between males and females (1,630), with a majority of them (83%) overexpressed in males. Between environmental conditions, 8,596 transcripts were DE, with most (67%) overexpressed in the sylvatic R. robustus samples, including 17 chemosensory transcripts (4 CSPs, 1 OBP, 5 ORs, 1 GR, 4 IR, and 2 TO), but 4 genes (OBP19, OR13, OR40, and OR79) were overexpressed in the reared samples.

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