Circadian rhythms in insect disease vectors.
Organisms from bacteria to humans have evolved under predictable daily environmental cycles owing to the Earth's rotation. This strong selection pressure has generated endogenous circadian clocks that regulate many aspects of behaviour, physiology and metabolism, anticipating and synchronising internal time-keeping to changes in the cyclical environment. In haematophagous insect vectors the circadian clock coordinates feeding activity, which is important for the dynamics of pathogen transmission. We have recently witnessed a substantial advance in molecular studies of circadian clocks in insect vector species that has consolidated behavioural data collected over many years, which provided insights into the regulation of the clock in the wild. Next generation sequencing technologies will facilitate the study of vector genomes/transcriptomes both among and within species and illuminate some of the species-specific patterns of adaptive circadian phenotypes that are observed in the field and in the laboratory. In this review we will explore these recent findings and attempt to identify potential areas for further investigation.
Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, Lausanne, Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Antonio Carlos Alves
AC
Meireles-Filho
Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, UK, Leicester, Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Charalambos Panayiotis
CP
Kyriacou
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics*; D009033:Culicidae / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000502:physiology
D056950:Period Circadian Proteins