A review of larval Chyzeria Canestrini, 1897 (Acari: Parasitengonina: Chyzeriidae).

Type-material for all larvae of species of Chyzeria Canestrini, 1897 (Prostigmata: Chyzerioidea: Chyzeriidae) was examined, diagnoses are presented and a key to species provided. The genus Chyzeria is divided in two species groups, onychia and hirsti, according to morphological and host preference differences. In addition, two new species of Chyzeria are described from specimens parasitising paropsine beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): Chyzeria southcotti n.

Wolbachia small noncoding RNAs and their role in cross-kingdom communications.

In prokaryotes, small noncoding RNAs (snRNAs) of 50-500 nt are produced that are important in bacterial virulence and response to environmental stimuli. Here, we identified and characterized snRNAs from the endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia, which are widespread in invertebrates and cause reproductive manipulations. Most importantly, some strains of Wolbachia inhibit replication of several vector-borne pathogens in insects.

Wolbachia infection modifies the profile, shuttling and structure of microRNAs in a mosquito cell line.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in many biological processes such as development, cell signaling and immune response. Small RNA deep sequencing technology provided an opportunity for a thorough survey of the miRNA profile of a mosquito cell line from Aedes aegypti. We characterized the miRNA composition of the nucleus and the cytoplasm of uninfected cells and compared it with the one of cells infected with the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia strain wMelPop-CLA.

Farnesyl phosphatase, a Corpora allata enzyme involved in juvenile hormone biosynthesis in Aedes aegypti.

Background: The juvenile hormones (JHs) are sesquiterpenoid compounds that play a central role in insect reproduction, development and behavior. The late steps of JH III biosynthesis in the mosquito Aedes aegypti involve the hydrolysis of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) to farnesol (FOL), which is then successively oxidized to farnesal and farnesoic acid, methylated to form methyl farnesoate and finally transformed to JH III by a P450 epoxidase. The only recognized FPP phosphatase (FPPase) expressed in the corpora allata (CA) of an insect was recently described in Drosophila melanogaster (DmFPPase).

Functional analysis of a mosquito short-chain dehydrogenase cluster.

The short-chain dehydrogenases (SDR) constitute one of the oldest and largest families of enzymes with over 46,000 members in sequence databases. About 25% of all known dehydrogenases belong to the SDR family. SDR enzymes have critical roles in lipid, amino acid, carbohydrate, hormone, and xenobiotic metabolism as well as in redox sensor mechanisms.

A new genus and species of larval mite (Acari: Prostigmata: Microtrombidiidae) parasitising Orthoptera (Tettigoniidae) from the Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Nevada capileirarum n. g., n.

Characterization of an isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase involved in the juvenile hormone pathway in Aedes aegypti.

Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IPPI) is an enzyme involved in the synthesis of juvenile hormone (JH) in the corpora allata (CA) of insects. IPPI catalyzes the conversion of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) to dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP); afterward IPP and DMAPP condense in a head-to-tail manner to produce geranyl diphosphate (GPP), this head-to-tail condensation can be repeated, by the further reaction of GPP with IPP, yielding the JH precursor farnesyl diphosphate. An IPPI expressed sequence tag (EST) was obtained from an Aedes aegypti corpora-allata + corpora cardiaca library.

Functional characterization of an allatotropin receptor expressed in the corpora allata of mosquitoes.

Allatotropin is an insect neuropeptide with pleiotropic actions on a variety of different tissues. In the present work we describe the identification, cloning and functional and molecular characterization of an Aedes aegypti allatotropin receptor (AeATr) and provide a detailed quantitative study of the expression of the AeATr gene in the adult mosquito. Analysis of the tissue distribution of AeATr mRNA in adult female revealed high transcript levels in the nervous system (brain, abdominal, thoracic and ventral ganglia), corpora allata-corpora cardiaca complex and ovary.

A coordinated expression of biosynthetic enzymes controls the flux of juvenile hormone precursors in the corpora allata of mosquitoes.

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key regulator of metamorphosis and ovarian development in mosquitoes. Adult female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes show developmental and dynamically regulated changes of JH synthesis. Newly emerged females have corpora allata (CA) with low biosynthetic activity, but they produce high amounts of JH a day later; blood feeding results in a striking decrease in JH synthesis, but the CA returns to a high level of JH synthesis three days later.

Rapid direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometric detection of juvenile hormone III and its terpene precursors.

Direct analysis in real time (DART) is a plasma-based ambient ionization technique that enables rapid ionization of small molecules with high sample throughput. In this work, DART was coupled to an orthogonal (oa) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer and the system was optimized for analyzing a vital hormonal regulator in insects, juvenile hormone (JH) III and its terpene precursors, namely, farnesol, farnesoic acid, and methyl farnesoate. Optimization experiments were planned using design of experiments (DOE) full factorial models to identify the most significant DART variables contributing to JH III analysis sensitivity by DART-TOF mass spectrometry (MS).

NADP+-dependent farnesol dehydrogenase, a corpora allata enzyme involved in juvenile hormone synthesis.

The synthesis of juvenile hormone (JH) is an attractive target for control of insect pests and vectors of disease, but the minute size of the corpora allata (CA), the glands that synthesize JH, has made it difficult to identify important biosynthetic enzymes by classical biochemical approaches. Here, we report identification and characterization of an insect farnesol dehydrogenase (AaSDR-1) that oxidizes farnesol into farnesal, a precursor of JH, in the CA. AaSDR-1 was isolated as an EST in a library of the corpora allata-corpora cardiaca of the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Allatostatin-C receptors in mosquitoes.

In the present work we describe the functional and molecular characterization of two Aedes aegypti allatostatin-C receptor paralogs (AeAS-CrA and AeAS-CrB) and provide a detailed quantitative study of the expression of the AS-C receptor genes in an adult insect. The tissue distribution of the two AS-C receptors differed significantly; the mRNA levels of AeAS-CrB in the Malpighian tubules were the highest detected, while transcripts for AeAS-CrA were relatively low in this tissue. In addition, the transcript levels of both receptors were different in the thoracic and abdominal ganglia, corpora allata (CA) and the testis of the male.

An improved end-point fluorimetric procedure for the determination of low amounts of trypsin activity in biological samples using rhodamine-110-based substrates.

A novel end-point fluorimetric procedure based on the use of rhodamine-110-labeled specific substrate was developed to determine trypsin activities in biological samples. We evaluated the ability of trichloroacetic acid and acetic acid to stop the enzymatic reaction without hindering the detection of the fluorescence of rhodamine-110 released into the reaction mixture from the specific substrate (CBZ-L-alanyl-L-arginine)(2)-rhodamine-110. Trichloroacetic acid decreased markedly the fluorescence of rhodamine-110, even at low concentrations.

Molecular and functional characterization of a juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase expressed in the corpora allata of mosquitoes.

A juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase (JHAMT) was isolated as an abundant EST in a library of the corpora allata of the adult female mosquito Aedes aegypti. Its full length cDNA encodes a 278-aa protein that has 43% amino acid identity with BmJHAMT, a juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase previously cloned from Bombyx mori. Heterologous expression produced a recombinant protein that metabolizes farnesoic acid (FA) into methyl farnesoate, as well as juvenile hormone acid into juvenile hormone III (JH III) with exquisite stereo specificity.

Role of juvenile hormone and allatotropin on nutrient allocation, ovarian development and survivorship in mosquitoes.

Teneral reserves are utilized to initiate previtellogenic ovarian development in mosquitoes. Females having emerged with low teneral reserves have reduced juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis and previtellogenic development. We investigated what role JH, allatotropin (AT) and other head-factors play in the regulation of previtellogenic ovarian development and adult survivorship.

Biochemical, molecular, and functional characterization of PISCF-allatostatin, a regulator of juvenile hormone biosynthesis in the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti PISCF-allatostatin or allatostatin-C (Ae-AS-C) was isolated using a combination of high performance liquid chromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrum of positive ELISA fractions revealed a molecular mass of 1919.0 Da, in agreement with the sequence qIRYRQCYFNPISCF, with bridged cysteines.

A new genus of the Eutrombidiinae Thor, 1935 (Acari: Eutrombidiidae) parasitic on an endemic beetle from the south of Spain.

Alhamitrombium tetraseta n. g., n.