title: Insights into the transcriptome of oenocytes from Aedes aegypti pupae.
abstract: Oenocytes are ectodermic cells present in the fat body of several insect species and these cells are considered to be analogous to the mammalian liver, based on their role in lipid storage, metabolism and secretion. Although oenocytes were identified over a century ago, little is known about their messenger RNA expression profiles. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome of Aedes aegypti oenocytes. We constructed a cDNA library from Ae. aegypti MOYO-R strain oenocytes collected from pupae and randomly sequenced 687 clones. After sequences editing and assembly, 326 high-quality contigs were generated. The most abundant transcripts identified corresponded to the cytochrome P450 superfamily, whose members have roles primarily related to detoxification and lipid metabolism. In addition, we identified 18 other transcripts with putative functions associated with lipid metabolism. One such transcript, a fatty acid synthase, is highly represented in the cDNA library of oenocytes. Moreover, oenocytes expressed several immunity-related genes and the majority of these genes were lysozymes. The transcriptional profile suggests that oenocytes play diverse roles, such as detoxification and lipid metabolism, and increase our understanding of the importance of oenocytes in Ae. aegypti homeostasis and immune competence.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brasil. gmartins@ufv.br
authors.forename: Gustavo Ferreira
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: José Marcelo
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramalho-Ortigão
authors.forename: Neil Francis
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: David William
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Severson
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: McDowell
authors.forename: Paulo Filemon Paolucci
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Pimenta
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics*; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000166:cytology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015723:Gene Library; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000235:genetics*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D011679:Pupa / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System