scholarly journals What happens after a blood meal? A transcriptome analysis of the main tissues involved in egg production in Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. e0008516
Author(s):  
Jimena Leyria ◽  
Ian Orchard ◽  
Angela B. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Transcriptome Analysis ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Insect Vector

scholarly journals What happens after a blood meal? A transcriptome response from the main tissues involved in egg production in Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimena Leyria ◽  
Ian Orchard ◽  
Angela B. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Insect Vector ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Epidemiological Impact

AbstractThe blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is a vector of Chagas disease, one of the most neglected tropical diseases affecting several million people, mostly in Latin America. The blood meal is an event with a high epidemiological impact since in adult mated females it initiates the production of hundreds of eggs. By means of RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) we have examined how a blood meal influences mRNA expression in the central nervous system (CNS), fat body and ovaries in order to promote egg production, focusing on tissue-specific responses under controlled nutritional conditions. We illustrate the cross talk between reproduction and a) lipids, proteins and trehalose metabolism, b) neuropeptide and neurohormonal signaling, and c) the immune system. Overall, our molecular evaluation confirms and supports previous studies and provides an invaluable molecular resource for future investigations on different tissues involved in successful reproductive events. Analyses like this can be used to increase the chances of developing novel strategies of vector population control by translational research, with less impact on the environment and more specificity for a particular organism.Author summaryThe blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is one of the main vectors of Chagas disease. The blood meal is an event with a high epidemiological impact since in adult mated females, blood-gorging leads to the production of hundreds of eggs. This work describes an in-depth central nervous system (CNS), ovary and fat body transcriptome analysis, focusing on transcripts related to blood intake which may be relevant in promoting egg production. To date, the principle focus in Chagas disease prevention is on the elimination of triatomine vectors and their progeny. This work will serve as a starting point for initiating novel investigations on targets identified with a potential for use in vector control; for example using specific genes to generated symbiont-mediated RNAi, a powerful technology which provides a novel means in biocontrol against tropical disease vectors.

scholarly journals Pigmentation loci as markers for genome editing in the Chagas disease vector Rhodnius prolixus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Berni ◽  
D. Bressan ◽  
Y. Simão ◽  
A. Julio ◽  
P. L. Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Insect Vector ◽  
Alternative Strategies ◽  
Primary Model ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Eye Pigmentation

AbstractThe kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus is a major vector for Chagas disease in the Americas, and also considered as the primary model for functional studies. Prospective transgenic approaches and genome editing strategies hold great promise for controlling insect populations as well as disease propagation. In this context, identifying visible genetic markers for transgenic methodologies is of paramount importance to advance the field. Here we have identified and analyzed the function of putative cuticle and eye color genes by investigating the effect of gene knockdown on fertility, viability, and the generation of visible phenotypes. Synthesis of the dark, yellow and tan pigments present in the cuticle of most insects depends on the function of key genes encoding enzymes in the tyrosine pathway. Knockdown of the R. prolixus yellow and aaNAT/pro orthologs produces striking alterations in cuticle color. Surprisingly, knockdown of ebony does not generate visible phenotypes. Since loss of ebony function results in a dark cuticle in several insect orders, we conclude that R. prolixus evolved alternative strategies for cuticle coloration, possibly including the loss of a pigmentation function for an entire branch of the tyrosine pathway. Knockdown of the scarlet and brown genes - encoding ABC transporters - alters cuticle and eye pigmentation, implying that the transport of pigment into proper organelles is an important process both for cuticle and eye coloration in this species. Therefore, this analysis identifies for the first time potential visible markers for transgenesis in a hemipteran vector for a debilitating human disease.Author SummaryThe hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus - also known as a kissing bug - is a main vector transmitting the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, a debilitating infection estimated to affect more than 6 million people in Central and South America. In order to limit disease spread, an important measure is insect vector control. However, kissing bugs - like other insects - develop resistance to insecticides. Alternative strategies based on transgenesis and the recently developed CRISPR- based genome edition hold great promise to control vector population or generate parasite-resistant insects. For these approaches to be feasible in R. prolixus, it is critical to identify visible phenotypic markers. Here we identify and describe several genes controlling cuticle and eye pigmentation that are well-suited putative landing sites for transformation strategies. Among these, loss-of-function mutations in the ABC transporter encoding scarlet and the tyrosine pathway enzyme encoding aaNAT/pro generate striking and easily visible phenotypes. Importantly, the knockdown of these genes does not affect insect viability and fertility under laboratory conditions. Our results suggest that R. prolixus has developed alternative strategies for cuticle coloration involving the loss of an entire branch of tanning loci, while the other branch producing cuticle patterns by generating non-pigmented areas has gained critical importance.

scholarly journals Biostable insect kinin analogs reduce blood meal and disrupt ecdysis in the blood-gorging Chagas’ disease vector, Rhodnius prolixus

Peptides ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela B. Lange ◽  
Ronald J. Nachman ◽  
Krzysztof Kaczmarek ◽  
Janusz Zabrocki
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Disease Vector

scholarly journals “Urate and NOX5 Control Blood Digestion in the Hematophagous Insect Rhodnius prolixus”

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Caroline P. Gandara ◽  
Felipe A. Dias ◽  
Paula C. de Lemos ◽  
Renata Stiebler ◽  
Ana Cristina S. Bombaça ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Redox Regulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Nitrogen Excretion ◽  
Digestive Physiology ◽  
Signaling Crosstalk ◽  
Blood Digestion ◽  
Blood Sucking

Low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are now recognized as essential players in cell signaling. Here, we studied the role of two conserved enzymes involved in redox regulation that play a critical role in the control of ROS in the digestive physiology of a blood-sucking insect, the kissing bugRhodnius prolixus. RNAi-mediated silencing ofRpNOX5andRpXDHinduced early mortality in adult females after a blood meal. Recently, a role forRpNOX5in gut motility was reported, and here, we show that midgut peristalsis is also under the control ofRpXDH. Together with impaired peristalsis, silencing either genes impaired egg production and hemoglobin digestion, and decreased hemolymph urate titers. Ultrastructurally, the silencing ofRpNOX5orRpXDHaffected midgut cells, changing the cells of blood-fed insects to a phenotype resembling the cells of unfed insects, suggesting that these genes work together in the control of blood digestion. Injection of either allopurinol (an XDH inhibitor) or uricase recapitulated the gene silencing effects, suggesting that urate itself is involved in the control of blood digestion. The silencing of each of these genes influenced the expression of the other gene in a complex way both in the unfed state and after a blood meal, revealing signaling crosstalk between them that influences redox metabolism and nitrogen excretion and plays a central role in the control of digestive physiology.

scholarly journals Genome of Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease, reveals unique adaptations to hematophagy and parasite infection

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (48) ◽  
pp. 14936-14941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael D. Mesquita ◽  
Raquel J. Vionette-Amaral ◽  
Carl Lowenberger ◽  
Rolando Rivera-Pomar ◽  
Fernando A. Monteiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Insect Vector ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Putative Gene ◽  
Imd Pathway ◽  
Genomic Analyses ◽  
Codon Use

Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.

THE EFFECT OF NUTRIENT INTAKE ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE EGG PRODUCTION OF RHODNIUS PROLIXUS STÅHL (HEMIPTERA: REDUVIIDAE)

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 891-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Friend ◽  
C. T. H. Choy ◽  
E. Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Abdominal Distension ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
The Body ◽  
Single Meal ◽  
Time Required ◽  
High Level

Nymphs of Rhodnius prolixus usually take a meal that is nine times the body weight before feeding. Adults usually take only three times their body weight as a blood meal. During the first 24 hours after feeding, the insect eliminates over 40% of the weight of the blood meal as dilute urine. The weight loss after this period is much more gradual.The minimum blood meal which promoted molting in various instars varied between 24.7 and 42.8% of the standard "maximum meal" for each instar; the minimum meal that promoted egg production was 31.3%. Limiting the size of the blood meal to these levels does not extend the time required for molting or egg production.Third- and fifth-instar nymphs, brought to a high level of nutrition by being fed a series of meals that are too small to cause molting, can be made to molt by a terminal meal that is about half the minimum single meal required to induce molting. Thus the amount of abdominal distension required to initiate molting can be lowered if the animals have been brought to a high level of nutrition.Up to a limit of 28 eggs, the number of eggs produced by a female shows good correlation with the amount of blood taken as food.

scholarly journals The neuropeptide RhoprCCHamide2 inhibits serotonin-stimulated transcellular Na+ transport across the anterior midgut of the vector of Chagas disease Rhodnius prolixus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Capriotti ◽  
Paula Gioino ◽  
Sheila Ons ◽  
Juan P. Ianowski
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Ussing Chamber ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Insect Vector ◽  
Na Channels ◽  
Atpase Inhibitor ◽  
Plasma Fraction ◽  
Anterior Midgut

Rhodnius prolixus is a blood-feeding insect vector of Tripanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that causes Chagas' disease. During each blood meal the animals ingest large volumes of blood, that may be up to 12 times the unfed body mass. These blood meals impose a significant osmotic stress for the animals due to the hyposmotic condition of the ingested blood compared to the insect's haemolymph. Thus, the insect undergoes a massive postprandial diuresis that allows for the excretion of the plasma fraction of the blood in less than two hours. Diuresis is performed by the excretory system, consisting of the Malpighian tubules and gut, under the control of diuretic and antidiuretic factors. We investigated the ion transport machinery triggered by stimulation with the diuretic factor serotonin in the anterior midgut (i.e. crop) and the effect of the diuretic modulator RhoprCCHamide2. Ussing chamber assays revealed that serotonin-stimulated increase in transepithelial short circuit current (Isc) was more sensitive to the blockage with amiloride than EIPA, suggesting the involvement of Na+ channels. Incubation in Na+-free, but not Cl−-free saline, blocked the effect of serotonin on Isc. Moreover, treatment with NKCC and NCC blockers had no effect on fluid secretion but was blocked by amiloride. Blockage of Na+/K+-ATPase with ouabain inhibit Isc but the H+-ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin had no effect. The neuropeptide RhoprCCHamide2 diminished serotonin-stimulated Isc across the crop. The results suggest that Na+ undergoes active transport via an apical amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels and a basolateral ouabain-sensitive Na+/K+-ATPase while Cl− is transported through passive paracellular pathway.

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