Day/night fluctuations in melatonin content, arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase activity and NAT mRNA expression in the CNS, peripheral tissues and hemolymph of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana

Bembenek, Jadwiga; Sehadová, Hana; Ichihara, Naoyuki; Takeda, Makio

doi:10.1016/j.cbpc.2004.03.017

Cited by 35 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This does not match the strength of the enzymatic activity in some tissues, which may reflect differences in mRNA stability in analogy to the case of D. melanogaster where NAT activity and NAT1 transcript did not match but the activity was found in the brain (Hintermann et al, 1996). Alternatively, other NAT genes may exist in those tissues since the enzymatic assay clearly showed a high NAT activity in the brain of P. americana (Bembenek et al, 2005). Our recent findings also demonstrated the presence of NAT-like antigen in the brain from P. americana (Bembenek et al, 2005).…”

Section: August 2005contrasting

confidence: 48%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding arylalkylamineN-acetyltransferase from the testicular system ofPeriplaneta americana: Primary protein structure and expression analysis

Bembenek

Sakamoto

Takeda

2005

Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

DNA encoding a fragment of putative arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, was amplified by PCR with degenerate primers based on the two peptides previously purified from the testicular system of this species. A full clone was obtained by RACE-PCR. The clone consisted of 89 bp 5'-UTR, 753-bp open reading frame and 712-bp 3'-UTR. The amino acid sequence of 251 residues deduced from this ORF corresponded to the predicted molecular mass of 28.5 kDa. The predicted amino acid sequence had an overall identity of 35% with NAT1 and 27% with NAT2 of Drosophila melanogaster, respectively. Structural analysis revealed that NAT from P. americana contained two motifs characteristic of the NAT superfamily and three conserved regions (C/c-1, D/c-1, D/c-2) distinguishing aaNAT subfamily. Northern blot analysis showed that the mRNA of approximately 1.5 kb was transcribed at a high level in the testicular system, and corresponded to the length of the cDNA, i.e., 1,554 bp. Significant levels of NAT transcript were also detected in the midgut, ovary and the accessory glands and at much lower levels in the fat body and brain. Southern blot analysis suggested the presence of a single copy of the cloned gene in the genome.

show abstract

Section: August 2005contrasting

confidence: 48%

“…Melatonin and NAT activity were detected in the brain, hemolymph, or whole body of Bombyx mori (Itoh et al, 1995), Drosophila melanogaster (Brodbeck et al, 1998), Pieris brassicae (L'Helias et al, 1995), and Periplaneta americana (Bembenek et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding arylalkylamineN-acetyltransferase from the testicular system ofPeriplaneta americana: Primary protein structure and expression analysis

Bembenek

Sakamoto

Takeda

2005

Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, insects use octopamine, histamine and tyramine as neurotransmitters 48– 53 . Melatonin also appears to exert neuromodulatory effects in insects 54, 55 . Interestingly, many of these amines modulate the olfactory system 56– 58 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trace amines inhibit insect odorant receptor function through antagonism of the co-receptor subunit

Chen

Luetje

2014

F1000Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many insect behaviors are driven by olfaction, making insect olfactory receptors (ORs) appealing targets for insect control. Insect ORs are odorant-gated ion channels, with each receptor thought to be composed of a representative from a large, variable family of odorant binding subunits and a highly conserved co-receptor subunit (Orco), assembled in an unknown stoichiometry. Synthetic Orco directed agonists and antagonists have recently been identified. Several Orco antagonists have been shown to act via an allosteric mechanism to inhibit OR activation by odorants. The high degree of conservation of Orco across insect species results in Orco antagonists having broad activity at ORs from a variety of insect species and suggests that the binding site for Orco ligands may serve as a modulatory site for compounds endogenous to insects or may be a target of exogenous compounds, such as those produced by plants. To test this idea, we screened a series of biogenic and trace amines, identifying several as Orco antagonists. Of particular interest were tryptamine, a plant-produced amine, and tyramine, an amine endogenous to the insect nervous system. Tryptamine was found to be a potent antagonist of Orco, able to block Orco activation by an Orco agonist and to allosterically inhibit activation of ORs by odorants. Tyramine had effects similar to those of tryptamine, but was less potent. Importantly, both tryptamine and tyramine displayed broad activity, inhibiting odorant activation of ORs of species from three different insect orders (Diptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera), as well as odorant activation of six diverse ORs from a single species (the human malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles gambiae). Our results suggest that endogenous and exogenous natural compounds serve as Orco ligands modulating insect olfaction and that Orco can be an important target for the development of novel insect repellants.

show abstract

“…In invertebrates, the relationship between circulating concentrations of melatonin and circadian rhythm is less clear [35,47]. Nocturnal peaks are observed in a range of species, including planarians [40,48], Drosophila [49][50][51], a cockroach [38] and a silkworm [39]. However, there are several exceptions to this general pattern: in the crustacea, many species exhibit diurnal peaks or no peak at all (for a comprehensive recent review, see [52]); in two species of hymenoptera, Apis mellifera and Apis ceranathe, circulating melatonin exhibits multiple daily peaks and troughs [53]; and in both the opisthobranch mollusc Aplysia californica [54] and the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus [55] melatonin concentrations vary across organs and tissues within the same individual (although the degree to which this is driven by biosynthesized melatonin is untested).…”

Section: (B) Melatonin and Circadian Rhythmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Melatonin: a possible link between the presence of artificial light at night and reductions in biological fitness

Jones

Durrant

Michaelides

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The mechanisms underpinning the ecological impacts of the presence of artificial night lighting remain elusive. One suspected underlying cause is that the presence of light at night (LAN) supresses nocturnal production of melatonin, a key driver of biological rhythm and a potent antioxidant with a proposed role in immune function. Here, we briefly review the evidence for melatonin as the link between LAN and changes in behaviour and physiology. We then present preliminary data supporting the potential for melatonin to act as a recovery agent mitigating the negative effects of LAN in an invertebrate. Adult crickets ( Teleogryllus commodus ), exposed to constant illumination, were provided with dietary melatonin (concentrations: 0, 10 or 100 µg ml −1 ) in their drinking water. We then compared survival, lifetime fecundity and, over a 4-week period, immune function (haemocyte concentration, lysozyme-like and phenoloxidase (PO) activity). Melatonin supplementation was able only partially to mitigate the detrimental effects of LAN: it did not improve survival or fecundity or PO activity, but it had a largely dose-dependent positive effect on haemocyte concentration and lysozyme-like activity. We discuss the implications of these relationships, as well as the usefulness of invertebrates as model species for future studies that explore the effects of LAN.

show abstract

Day/night fluctuations in melatonin content, arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase activity and NAT mRNA expression in the CNS, peripheral tissues and hemolymph of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana

Cited by 35 publications

References 33 publications

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding arylalkylamineN-acetyltransferase from the testicular system ofPeriplaneta americana: Primary protein structure and expression analysis

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding arylalkylamineN-acetyltransferase from the testicular system ofPeriplaneta americana: Primary protein structure and expression analysis

Trace amines inhibit insect odorant receptor function through antagonism of the co-receptor subunit

Melatonin: a possible link between the presence of artificial light at night and reductions in biological fitness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About