An insight into the sialotranscriptome of Simulium nigrimanum, a black fly associated with fogo selvagem in South America.
Pemphigus foliaceus is a life threatening skin disease that is associated with autoimmunity to desmoglein, a skin protein involved in the adhesion of keratinocytes. This disease is endemic in certain areas of South America, suggesting the mediation of environmental factors triggering autoimmunity. Among the possible environmental factors, exposure to bites of black flies, in particular Simulium nigrimanum has been suggested. In this work, we describe the sialotranscriptome of adult female S. nigrimanum flies. It reveals the complexity of the salivary potion of this insect, comprised by over 70 distinct genes within over 30 protein families, including several novel families, even when compared with the previously described sialotranscriptome of the autogenous black fly, S. vittatum. The uncovering of this sialotranscriptome provides a platform for testing pemphigus patient sera against recombinant salivary proteins from S. nigrimanum and for the discovery of novel pharmacologically active compounds.
Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rockville, MA, USA. jribeiro@niaid.nih.gov
José M C
JM
Ribeiro
Jesus G
JG
Valenzuela
Van M
VM
Pham
Lindsay
L
Kleeman
Kent D
KD
Barbian
Amanda J
AJ
Favreau
Donald P
DP
Eaton
Valeria
V
Aoki
Gunter
G
Hans-Filho
Evandro A
EA
Rivitti
Luis A
LA
Diaz
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000276:immunology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013020:South America
D019476:Insect Proteins