Analysis of Pigment-Dispersing Factor Neuropeptides and Their Receptor in a Velvet Worm

During the present study, we examined the phylogeography and systematics of two species of velvet worm (Peripatopsis Pocock, 1894) in the forested region of the southern Cape of South Africa. A total of 89 P. moseleyi (Wood-Mason, 1879) and 65 P. sedgwicki (Purcell, 1899) specimens were collected and sequenced for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I mtDNA (COI). In addition, a single P. sedgwicki specimen per sample locality was sequenced for the 18S rRNA locus. Furthermore, morphological variation among P. sedgwicki sample localities were explored using traditional alpha taxonomic characters. DNA sequence data were subjected to phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference and population genetic analyses using haplotype networks and analyses of molecular variance (AMOVAs). Phylogenetic results revealed the presence of four and three clades within P. moseleyi and P. sedgwicki respectively. Haplotype networks were characterised by the absence of shared haplotypes between clades, suggesting genetic isolation, a result corroborated by the AMOVA and highly significant FST values. Specimens from Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve were both genetically and morphologically distinct from the two remaining P. sedgwicki clades. The latter result suggests the presence of a novel lineage nested within P. sedgwicki and suggests that species boundaries within this taxon require re-examination.

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Cryptic speciation in a biodiversity hotspot: multilocus molecular data reveal new velvet worm species from Western Australia (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae : Kumbadjena)

Invertebrate Systematics ◽

10.1071/is18024 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 1249 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shoyo Sato ◽

Rebecca S. Buckman-Young ◽

Mark S. Harvey ◽

Gonzalo Giribet

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

18S Rrna ◽

Mitochondrial Protein ◽

Molecular Data ◽

12S Rrna ◽

Protein Coding ◽

Complex Morphology ◽

Velvet Worm ◽

Three New Species ◽

Western Australian

There is a yet uncovered multitude of species to be found among Western Australian Onychophora. Kumbadjena, one of the two genera that reside in this region, has been previously suggested to house an extensive species complex. Morphology alone has not been able to elucidate the diversity in this genus and has instead muddled species delineations. Topologies and species delimitation analyses resulting from the sequences of two mitochondrial ribosomal markers (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), one nuclear ribosomal marker (18S rRNA), and one mitochondrial protein-coding gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) are indicative of several undescribed species. Fixed diagnostic nucleotide changes in the highly conserved sequences of 18S rRNA warrant distinction of three new species of Kumbadjena: K. toolbrunupensis, sp. nov., K. karricola, sp. nov., and K. extrema, sp. nov. The geographic distributions of the proposed species suggest that Kumbadjena is another example of short-range endemism, a common occurrence in the flora and fauna of the region. The extensive biodiversity and endemism in the region necessitates conservation to preserve the species and processes that promote speciation harboured by Western Australia.

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AKH-FOXO pathway regulates starvation-induced sleep loss through remodeling of the small ventral lateral neuron dorsal projections

PLoS Genetics ◽

10.1371/journal.pgen.1009181 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. e1009181

Author(s):

Qiankun He ◽

Juan Du ◽

Liya Wei ◽

Zhangwu Zhao

Keyword(s):

Sleep Loss ◽

Response Factor ◽

Sleep Regulation ◽

Adipokinetic Hormone ◽

Starvation Response ◽

Pigment Dispersing Factor ◽

Synapse Plasticity ◽

Food Shortages ◽

Function Blocks ◽

The Central Nervous System

Starvation caused by adverse feeding stresses or food shortages has been reported to result in sleep loss in animals. However, how the starvation signal interacts with the central nervous system is still unknown. Here, the adipokinetic hormone (AKH)—Fork head Box-O (FOXO) pathway is shown to respond to energy change and adjust the sleep of Drosophila through remodeling of the s-LNv (small ventral lateral neurons) dorsal projections. Our results show that starvation prevents flies from going to sleep after the first light-dark transition. The LNvs are required for starvation-induced sleep loss through extension of the pigment dispersing factor (PDF)-containing s-LNv dorsal projections. Further studies reveal that loss of AKH or AKHR (akh receptor) function blocks starvation-induced extension of s-LNv dorsal projections and rescues sleep suppression during food deprivation. FOXO, which has been reported to regulate synapse plasticity of neurons, acts as starvation response factor downstream of AKH, and down regulation of FOXO level considerably alleviates the influence of starvation on s-LNv dorsal projections and sleep. Taking together, our results outline the transduction pathways between starvation signal and sleep, and reveal a novel functional site for sleep regulation.

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Circadian release of pigment-dispersing factor in the visual system of the housefly,Musca domestica

The Journal of Comparative Neurology ◽

10.1002/cne.21765 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 509 (4) ◽

pp. 422-435 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Katarzyna Miśkiewicz ◽

Friedrich-Wilhelm Schürmann ◽

Elżbieta Pyza

Keyword(s):

Visual System ◽

Musca Domestica ◽

Pigment Dispersing Factor

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Ectopic Expression of the Neuropeptide Pigment-Dispersing Factor Alters Behavioral Rhythms inDrosophila melanogaster

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.20-09-03339.2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 20 (9) ◽

pp. 3339-3353 ◽

Cited By ~ 152

Author(s):

Charlotte Helfrich-Förster ◽

Marcus Täuber ◽

Jae H. Park ◽

Max Mühlig-Versen ◽

Stephan Schneuwly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ectopic Expression ◽

Behavioral Rhythms ◽

Pigment Dispersing Factor

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Different transcriptional levels of Corazonin, Elevenin and PDF according to the body-color of the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1093/bbb/zbab183 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hitomi Seike ◽

Shinji Nagata

Keyword(s):

Locusta Migratoria ◽

Living Environment ◽

The Body ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Body Color ◽

Gryllus Bimaculatus ◽

Pigment Dispersing Factor ◽

Color Changes ◽

Quantitative Analyses ◽

Endocrine Factors

Abstract Body-color in insects changes according to the living environment and physiological stresses possibly involved in endocrine factors. To date, three predominant bioactive peptides, Corazonin, Elevenin, and pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) have been illuminated to be involved in the body-color in insects and crustaceans. Here, we examined the possibilities that these three factors would contribute to body-color changes via melanization in the two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, whose body color changes according to population density drastically. Quantitative analyses revealed that the higher transcriptional levels of Corazonin and Elevenin in the crowded-conditioned crickets, whereas the transcriptional level of PDF was higher in the isolated-conditioned crickets. However, the body color was not changed by knockdown of Corazonin, Elevenin, and PDF by RNA interference. The present data indicated that coloration mechanisms in G. bimaculatus is differently controlled from the previous observation in Locusta migratoria, a closely related orthopteran species.

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