Neuropeptides in Rhipicephalus microplus and other hard ticks.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. 2022-05-01; 13(3): 101910
DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101910
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Waldman J(1), Xavier MA(1), Vieira LR(2), Logullo R(2), Braz GRC(3), Tirloni L(4), Ribeiro JMC(5), Veenstra JA(6), Silva Vaz ID Jr(7).
Author information:
(1)Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS, Brazil.
(2)Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio
de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
(3)Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio
de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e
Tecnologia – Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
(4)Tick-Pathogen Transmission Unit, Laboratory of Bacteriology, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT, USA.
(5)Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rockville, MD, USA.
(6)Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, UMR 5287
CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
(7)Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia – Entomologia
Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address:
.
The synganglion is the central nervous system of ticks and, as such, controls
tick physiology. It does so through the production and release of signaling
molecules, many of which are neuropeptides. These peptides can function as
neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and/or neurohormones, although in most cases
their functions remain to be established. We identified and performed in silico
characterization of neuropeptides present in different life stages and organs of
Rhipicephalus microplus, generating transcriptomes from ovary, salivary glands,
fat body, midgut and embryo. Annotation of synganglion transcripts led to the
identification of 32 functional categories of proteins, of which the most
abundant were: secreted, energetic metabolism and oxidant
metabolism/detoxification. Neuropeptide precursors are among the sequences
over-represented in R. microplus synganglion, with at least 5-fold higher
transcription compared with other stages/organs. A total of 52 neuropeptide
precursors were identified: ACP, achatin, allatostatins A, CC and CCC,
allatotropin, bursicon A/B, calcitonin A and B, CCAP, CCHamide, CCRFamide,
CCH/ITP, corazonin, DH31, DH44, eclosion hormone, EFLamide, EFLGGPamide,
elevenin, ETH, FMRFamide myosuppressin-like, glycoprotein A2/B5, gonadulin, IGF,
inotocin, insulin-like peptides, iPTH, leucokinin, myoinhibitory peptide, NPF 1
and 2, orcokinin, proctolin, pyrokinin/periviscerokinin, relaxin, RYamide,
SIFamide, sNPF, sulfakinin, tachykinin and trissin. Several of these
neuropeptides have not been previously reported in ticks, as the presence of ETH
that was first clearly identified in Parasitiformes, which include ticks and
mites. Prediction of the mature neuropeptides from precursor sequences was
performed using available information about these peptides from other species,
conserved domains and motifs. Almost all neuropeptides identified are also
present in other tick species. Characterizing the role of neuropeptides and
their respective receptors in tick physiology can aid the evaluation of their
potential as drug targets.
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Conflict of interest statement: Declarations of Competing Interest None.