Unit of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, Sundsvägen 14, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden.
Neurobiology/Ethology, Department of Biology, Philipps University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 8, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
Peptides. 2018 May;103:31-39. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2018.03.009. Epub 2018 Mar 14.
Mosquito blood feeding transiently inhibits sugar- and host seeking through neuropeptide signaling. Short neuropeptide F (sNPF) is one of the neuromodulators involved in this regulation. Here, we identified the genes for the sNPF precursor and the sNPF receptor in the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus. Comparative analyses are made with the genes of the sNPF precursor and receptor from two other important vectors, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles coluzzii. We functionally characterized the receptors in all three species using endogenous neuropeptides, and quantified their transcript expression following a blood meal and a sugar meal. Our analysis reveals several Cx. quinquefasciatus-specific duplications of the sNPF-3 isoform on the sNPF precursor, which are not reflected in the precursors of the other two species. In contrast, the structure of the sNPF receptors is highly conserved within mosquitoes, and a putative ligand binding region is proposed and discussed. Reflecting the high structural conservation, the sNPF receptor sensitivity to endogenous sNPF isoforms is conserved across mosquito species. Using quantitative real time PCR, we demonstrate that transcript abundance of the sNPF receptor and precursor is regulated following feeding, only in Cx. quinquefasciatus. We discuss our findings in relation to previous work on sNPF signaling and its role in feeding regulation.
蚊子吸血会短暂地抑制通过神经肽信号进行的糖和宿主寻找。短神经肽 F（sNPF）是参与这种调节的神经调质之一。在这里，我们鉴定了南方家蚊 Culex quinquefasciatus 中 sNPF 前体和 sNPF 受体的基因。与两种其他重要载体埃及伊蚊和冈比亚按蚊的 sNPF 前体和受体基因进行了比较分析。我们使用内源性神经肽对所有三种物种的受体进行了功能表征，并在吸血和糖餐后定量测定了它们的转录表达。我们的分析揭示了 sNPF-3 同工型在 sNPF 前体上的几个 Cx. quinquefasciatus 特异性重复，这在其他两个物种的前体中没有反映。相比之下，蚊子内部的 sNPF 受体结构高度保守，提出并讨论了一个假定的配体结合区域。反映出高度的结构保守性，sNPF 受体对内源性 sNPF 同工型的敏感性在蚊子物种中是保守的。使用定量实时 PCR，我们证明了 sNPF 受体和前体的转录丰度在进食后仅在 Cx. quinquefasciatus 中受到调节。我们讨论了我们的发现与以前关于 sNPF 信号及其在进食调节中的作用的工作。
