title: Expression profiles of astakine-like transcripts in the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, exposed to fungal spores of Beauveria bassiana.
abstract: Astakines are hematopoietic cytokines originally isolated from crustaceans. We identified three astakine-like transcripts in the tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris), LlAst-1, LlAst-2 and LlAst-3, containing prokineticin domains. Quantitative real-time PCR showed variation in expression patterns of astakines in different tissues and between sexes. Relative expression levels of LlAst-1 were highest in the fat bodies of females, while LlAst-2 expression was highest in the fat bodies of both males and females. LlAst-3 expression was higher in male legs compared with the female legs, but lower in all other tissues. Infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana slightly elevated LlAst-1 expression 48 h after infection in both males and females. In contrast, the expression levels of LlAst-2 and LlAst-3 were not significantly changed in males and females. Compared with 12:00 h, LlAst-1 level was higher in both sexes at 18:00 h and 00:00 h (midnight). By 6:00 h, the LlAst-1 level in females was significantly reduced while that in males remained high. LlAst-2 and -3 had highest relative expression levels in females at midnight but were significantly lower than in males at midnight and in both sexes at 18:00 h and 6:00 h. This is the first report of expression of astakine-like cytokines from insects.
authors.affiliation: Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 1503 S. Providence Road, MO, 65203, Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Shelby
authors.affiliation: Southern Insect Management Research Unit, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Stoneville, MS, 38776, USA.
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Perera
authors.affiliation: Southern Insect Management Research Unit, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Stoneville, MS, 38776, USA.
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Snodgrass
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D052982:Beauveria / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005121:Extremities; D005216:Fat Body / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012737:Sex Factors; D013172:Spores, Fungal
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D019476:Insect Proteins
keywords: Lygus lineolaris; circadian; hematopoiesis; photoperiod; real-time PCR