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Abstract
The bed bug Cimex lectularius is a blood-feeding re-emerging annoyance pest insect that has the ability to transmit Trypanosoma cruzi under experimental laboratory conditions. Aquaporins (AQPs) are water channel proteins that are essential in biological organisms. C. lectularius are constantly exposed to water-related stress, suggesting that AQPs may offer novel control avenues. We identified and cloned four AQPs from C. lectularius, assessed tissue and lifestage-specific expression, and characterized biochemical functions in vitro and in vivo. We identified an efficient water-specific AQP (ClAQP1), two aquaglyceroporins (ClGlp1 and ClGlp2) and a homolog of Drosophila melanogaster big brain (ClBib). ClGlp1 was only functional when co-expressed with the water-specific AQP. Simultaneous RNAi gene silencing of ClAQP1 and ClGlp1 significantly reduced water and urea excretion post blood feeding. The Bib homologue was enriched in embryos, exclusively expressed in ovaries, and when silenced, dramatically increased bug fecundity. Our data demonstrate that AQPs have critical roles in excretion, water homeostasis and reproduction in C. lectularius, and could be potential targets for control in this notorious pest.
Highlights
The human bed bug Cimex lectularius is an insect belonging to the order Hemiptera that requires vertebrate blood for development, egg production and survival
We identified all three functional subclasses of AQPs homologs in C. lectularius
Multiple alignment indicated highest similarity of AQP-like genes predicated in the VectorBase genome to the AQP-like genes we identified as follows: CLEC007784 (AQP2) with ClAQP1, CLEC025356 (AQP5) with ClGlp[1], CLEC013397 (AQP4) with ClGlp[2] and CLEC002337 with ClBib
Summary
The human bed bug Cimex lectularius is an insect belonging to the order Hemiptera (true bugs) that requires vertebrate (usually human) blood for development, egg production and survival. Despite near-eradication in the 1950’s, bed bug populations have been rapidly reemerging in industrialized countries during the last 15 years[3]. Bed bugs obtain almost all water from the blood meal[8]. Bed bugs require a blood meal for each molt and for egg production, which can reach more than three times of the unfed body weight of an adult[9] limiting movement and leading to increasing probability of being killed by the host or predators. Aquaporin (AQP) water channels are transmembrane proteins that facilitate movement of water and selected solutes across biological membranes, and are found in all domains of organisms. In neural development[11] and is unique in having long N- and C-terminal tails in addition to six conserved AQP transmembrane domains[12]
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