title: Cloning of the cDNA, localization, and physiological effects of FGLamide-related allatostatins in the blood-gorging bug, Rhodnius prolixus.
abstract: Allatostatins (ASTs) are insect neuropeptides that were first identified as inhibitors of juvenile hormone biosynthesis by the corpora allata. There are three families of ASTs in insects, defined by their C-terminus conserved regions, one of which is FGLamide. Here we determine, for the first time in a hemipteran, the complete 1013 bp cDNA sequence encoding the Rhodnius prolixus FGLa/ASTs (Rhopr-FGLa/ASTs), and confirm the transcript size using northern blot. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Rhopr-FGLa/AST prepropeptide is most similar to the FGLa/AST precursors identified in Hymenoptera. Reverse-transcriptase PCR demonstrates that the Rhopr-FGLa/AST transcript is highly expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) in unfed fifth-instar R. prolixus, and is reduced in expression in CNS dissected from one day old blood-fed insects. Fluorescent in situ hybridization shows transcript expression in neurons in each ganglion of the CNS, but also in cells located on peripheral nerves. Rhopr-FGLa/ASTs dose-dependently inhibit contractions of the anterior midgut and hindgut, suggesting a role in feeding-related physiological events.
authors: Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5L 1C6. meet.zandawala@utoronto.ca
authors: Meet
authors: M
authors: Zandawala
authors: Yuliya
authors: Y
authors: Lytvyn
authors: Daria
authors: D
authors: Taiakina
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Orchard
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012239:Rhodnius / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides; C076523:allatostatin