Rhodnius prolixus, the principal Chagas disease vector, requires a blood meal to complete its moult cycle into the next stage. Allatotropins (ATs), a family of peptides first isolated from Manduca sexta, have been shown to regulate the biosynthesis of juvenile hormone, an insect growth and development hormone; however, ATs, being multimodal peptides, also exhibit myotropic effects on some insect visceral muscles. Here, this AT family of peptides has been examined in R. prolixus. Genomic analysis revealed a cDNA fragment of 973bp encoding one mature amidated AT tridecapeptide (Rhopr-AT) with high transcript levels observed, via RT-PCR, in the central nervous system (CNS) and pool of fat body and trachea. AT-like immunoreactive neurons were found throughout the CNS and AT-like immunoreactive processes were present on some peripheral tissues. Bioassays using hindgut and dorsal vessel contraction, however, failed to demonstrate any effect of Rhopr-AT on these tissues. Future work will examine the effects of Rhopr-AT on JH production.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43180 |
| Date | 05 December 2013 |
| Creators | Masood, Maryam |
| Contributors | Orchard, Ian |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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