Neuropeptide signaling sequences identified by pyrosequencing of the American dog tick synganglion transcriptome during blood feeding and reproduction

In silico cloning of genes encoding neuropeptides, neurohormones and their putative G-protein coupled receptors in a spider mite

“…Related peptides have been detected in many insect species, but little is known about the biological activity of these peptides in insects, except that they were recently shown to stimulate the prothoracic gland in the silk worm . Different orcokinin transcripts have been reported from the American dog tick (Donohue et al, 2010), but in the spider mite we found only one orcokinin gene (tetur04g00100) which codes for a precursor with seven paracopies (Fig. 10).…”

“…Thus four of those spider mite GnRH-like receptors might be activated by the predicted GnRH-like peptides, but the ligand of tetur 17g00970 could well be different. Although no genes were found for either corazonin or its receptor in the Tetranychus genome, corazonin is known from other chelicerates, such as the ticks Dermacentor variabilis and Ixodes scapularis (Christie, 2008;Neupert et al, 2009;Donohue et al, 2010).…”

“…Those studies have identified neuropeptide and neuropeptide receptor EST and cDNA sequences and have also identified some peptides directly by mass spectrometry (e.g. Holmes et al, 2003;Simo et al, 2009a,b;Neupert et al, 2009;Donohue et al, 2010;Bissinger et al, 2011). There are also a few publications on the horse shoe crab (e.g.…”

Ancestral reconstruction of tick lineages

“…Next-generation sequencing of the synganglion of D. variabilis detected 9-14 neuropeptides (Bissinger et al 2011;Donohue et al 2010). Comparison of the neuropeptides and neuroreceptors of I. scapularis and O. turicata suggest overall similarity in neuropeptide signaling.…”

Akt is an essential player in regulating cell/organ growth at the adult stage in the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis

“…A putative insulin-like peptide and an insulinreceptor substrate were identified from De. variabilis (Donohue et al, 2010). Furthermore, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-related proteins (IGFBP-rP) were also found in Am.…”