Sterkel Marcos, Oliveira Pedro L
Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil.
Proc Biol Sci. 2017 May 17;284(1854). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2607.
The phenylalanine/tyrosine degradation pathway is frequently described as a catabolic pathway that funnels aromatic amino acids into citric acid cycle intermediates. Previously, we demonstrated that the accumulation of tyrosine generated during the hydrolysis of blood meal proteins in is potentially toxic, a harmful outcome that is prevented by the action of the first two enzymes in the tyrosine degradation pathway. In this work, we further evaluated the relevance of all other enzymes involved in phenylalanine/tyrosine metabolism in the physiology of this insect. The knockdown of most of these enzymes produced a wide spectrum of distinct phenotypes associated with reproduction, development and nymph survival, demonstrating a highly pleiotropic role of tyrosine metabolism. The phenotypes obtained for two of these enzymes, homogentisate dioxygenase and fumarylacetoacetase, have never before been described in any arthropod. To our knowledge, this report is the first comprehensive gene-silencing analysis of an amino acid metabolism pathway in insects. Amino acid metabolism is exceptionally important in haematophagous arthropods due to their particular feeding behaviour.
苯丙氨酸/酪氨酸降解途径通常被描述为一种分解代谢途径，该途径将芳香族氨基酸导入柠檬酸循环中间体。此前，我们证明了在[昆虫名称未给出]中血餐蛋白水解过程中产生的酪氨酸积累具有潜在毒性，而酪氨酸降解途径中前两种酶的作用可防止这种有害结果的发生。在这项工作中，我们进一步评估了参与该昆虫生理学中苯丙氨酸/酪氨酸代谢的所有其他酶的相关性。敲低这些酶中的大多数会产生一系列与繁殖、发育和若虫存活相关的不同表型，表明酪氨酸代谢具有高度多效性作用。其中两种酶，即尿黑酸双加氧酶和延胡索酰乙酰乙酸酶所产生的表型，在任何节肢动物中都未曾被描述过。据我们所知，本报告是昆虫中氨基酸代谢途径的首次全面基因沉默分析。由于其特殊的取食行为，氨基酸代谢在吸血节肢动物中尤为重要。
