An Aquaporin-Like Protein from the Ovaries and Gut of American Dog Tick (Acari: Ixodidae)

Holmes, Steven P.; Li, Dimin; Ceraul, Shane M.; Azad, Abdu F.

doi:10.1093/jmedent/45.1.68

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Another AQP primarily expressed in the ovary has been described in the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Holmes et al, 2008), and it has been speculated that this may function in lipid metabolism and/or water transport. However, no experimental studies have been carried out with this AQP, beyond functional expression in X. laevis oocytes.…”

Section: A Herraiz and Othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and functional characterization of an ovarian aquaporin from the cockroachBlattella germanicaL. (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae)

Herraiz

Chauvigné

Cerdà

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYAquaporins (AQPs) are membrane proteins that form water channels, allowing rapid movement of water across cell membranes. AQPs have been reported in species of all life kingdoms and in almost all tissues, but little is known about them in insects. Our purpose was to explore the occurrence of AQPs in the ovary of the phylogenetically basal insect Blattella germanica (L.) and to study their possible role in fluid homeostasis during oogenesis. We isolated an ovarian AQP from B. germanica (BgAQP) that has a deduced amino acid sequence showing six potential transmembrane domains, two NPA motifs and an ar/R constriction region, which are typical features of the AQP family. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that BgAQP belongs to the PRIP group of insect AQPs, previously suggested to be water specific. However, ectopic expression of BgAQP in Xenopus laevis oocytes demonstrated that this AQP transports water and modest amounts of urea, but not glycerol, which suggests that the PRIP group of insect AQPs may have heterogeneous solute preferences. BgAQP was shown to be highly expressed in the ovary, followed by the fat body and muscle tissues, but water stress did not significantly modify the ovarian expression levels. RNA interference (RNAi) reduced BgAQP mRNA levels in the ovary but the oocytes developed normally. The absence of an apparent ovarian phenotype after BgAQP RNAi suggests that other functionally redundant AQPs that were not silenced in our experiments might exist in the ovary of B. germanica. Supplementary material available online at

show abstract

Section: A Herraiz and Othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and functional characterization of an ovarian aquaporin from the cockroachBlattella germanicaL. (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae)

Herraiz

Chauvigné

Cerdà

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Arthropods are a highly diverse, yet monophyletic phylum of joint-legged molting animals that are classified into four major subphyla, the Chelicerata (e.g., sea spiders, horseshoe crabs and arachnids), and a subclade of Mandibulata comprised of the Myriapoda (e.g., centipedes and millipedes), the Crustacea (e.g., waterfleas, tadpole shrimps, barnacles, copepods and decapods) and the Hexapoda (e.g., entognathans and insects) 19 . Glps have been identified in selected species of each subphylum, including multiple genes in arachnids, a single copy in a centipede ( Strigamia maritima ), multiple genes in water fleas and copepods and one or two genes in more basal lineages of Hexapoda 2 , 14 , 20 – 24 . However taxon sampling has remained limited, particularly for Crustacea due to the abscence of genomic and transcriptomic data, and it has thus not been possible to determine whether crustacean Glps are paraphyletic as indicated for Chelicerata or monophyletic as indicated for insects 14 , 23 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lineage-level divergence of copepod glycerol transporters and the emergence of isoform-specific trafficking regulation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transmembrane conductance of small uncharged solutes such as glycerol typically occurs through aquaglyceroporins (Glps), which are commonly encoded by multiple genes in metazoan organisms. To date, however, little is known concerning the evolution of Glps in Crustacea or what forces might underly such apparent gene redundancy. Here, we show that Glp evolution in Crustacea is highly divergent, ranging from single copy genes in species of pedunculate barnacles, tadpole shrimps, isopods, amphipods and decapods to up to 10 copies in diplostracan water fleas although with monophyletic origins in each lineage. By contrast the evolution of Glps in Copepoda appears to be polyphyletic, with surprisingly high rates of gene duplication occurring in a genera- and species-specific manner. Based upon functional experiments on the Glps from a parasitic copepod (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), we show that such lineage-level gene duplication and splice variation is coupled with a high rate of neofunctionalization. In the case of L. salmonis, splice variation of a given gene resulted in tissue- or sex-specific expression of the channels, with each variant evolving unique sites for protein kinase C (PKC)- or protein kinase A (PKA)-regulation of intracellular membrane trafficking. The combined data sets thus reveal that mutations favouring a high fidelity control of intracellular trafficking regulation can be a selection force for the evolution and retention of multiple Glps in copepods.

show abstract

“…High AQP expression in salivary glands has been noted in other tick species including Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (Niu et al, 2022), Ixodes ricinus (Campbell et al, 2010) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Ball et al, 2009). IsAQP1 additionally showed low expression in the Malpighian tubules (Figure 3 ), but very little expression in gut and ovary—two organs commonly reported to have high AQP expression in ticks (Niu et al, 2022; Ball et al, 2009; Holmes et al, 2008; Campbell et al, 2010). AQPs are typically expressed in a tissue‐specific manner (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…IsAQP1 additionally showed low expression in the Malpighian tubules (Figure 3), but very little expression in gut and ovary-two organs commonly reported to have high AQP expression in ticks (Niu et al, 2022;Ball et al, 2009;Holmes et al, 2008;Campbell et al, 2010). AQPs are typically expressed in a tissue-specific manner (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Function and evolution of the aquaporin IsAQP1 in the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis

Tsujimoto

Metz

Smith

et al. 2023

Insect Molecular Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ticks are important vectors of pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and protozoans to humans, wildlife, and domestic animals. Due to their life cycles, ticks face significant challenges related to water homeostasis. When blood‐feeding, they must excrete water and ions, but when off‐host (for stretches lasting several months), they must conserve water to avoid desiccation. Aquaporins (AQPs), a family of membrane‐bound water channels, are key players in osmoregulation in many animals but remain poorly characterized in ticks. Here, we bioinformatically identified AQP‐like genes from the deer tick Ixodes scapularis and used phylogenetic approaches to map the evolution of the aquaporin gene family in arthropods. Most arachnid AQP‐like sequences (including those of I. scapularis) formed a monophyletic group clustered within aquaglycerolporins (GLPs) from bacteria to vertebrates. This gene family is absent from insects, revealing divergent evolutionary paths for AQPs in different hematophagous arthropods. Next, we sequenced the full‐length cDNA of I. scapularis aquaporin 1 (IsAQP1) and expressed it heterologously in Xenopus oocytes to functionally characterize its permeability to water and solutes. Additionally, we examined IsAQP1 expression across different life stages and adult female organs. We found IsAQP1 is an efficient water channel with high expression in salivary glands prior to feeding, suggesting it plays a role in osmoregulation before or during blood feeding. Its functional properties are unique: unlike most GLPs, IsAQP1 has low glycerol permeability, and unlike most AQPs, it is insensitive to mercury. Together, our results suggest IsAQP1 plays an important role in tick water balance physiology and that it may hold promise as a target of novel vector control efforts.

show abstract

An Aquaporin-Like Protein from the Ovaries and Gut of American Dog Tick (Acari: Ixodidae)

Cited by 11 publications

References 16 publications

Identification and functional characterization of an ovarian aquaporin from the cockroachBlattella germanicaL. (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae)

Identification and functional characterization of an ovarian aquaporin from the cockroachBlattella germanicaL. (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae)

Lineage-level divergence of copepod glycerol transporters and the emergence of isoform-specific trafficking regulation

Function and evolution of the aquaporin IsAQP1 in the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About