G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in Insects-A Potential Target for New Insecticide Development

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-05, Vol.26 (10), p.2993
• Main Authors: Liu, Nannan, Li, Ting, Wang, Yifan, Liu, Shikai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bioinformatics; Central nervous system; Disease control; G-protein coupled receptor regulation pathway; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; genome sequences analysis; Genomes; Genomics; Geographical distribution; GPCR physiological functions; insect physiology; Insecta - drug effects; Insecta - genetics; Insecta - metabolism; Insecticide resistance; Insecticide Resistance - genetics; Insecticides; Insecticides - toxicity; Insects; Kinases; Molecular biology; Mosquitoes; Organ Specificity - drug effects; Organ Specificity - genetics; Organisms; Organs; Pest control; Pesticide resistance; Pests; phylogenic tree; Physiology; Proteins; Proteomics; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled - metabolism; Review; tissue specific expression; Toxicology; Transcriptomes
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules26102993

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play important roles in cell biology and insects' physiological processes, toxicological response and the development of insecticide resistance. New information on genome sequences, proteomic and transcriptome analysis and expression patterns of GPCRs in organs such as the central nervous system in different organisms has shown the importance of these signaling regulatory GPCRs and their impact on vital cell functions. Our growing understanding of the role played by GPCRs at the cellular, genome, transcriptome and tissue levels is now being utilized to develop new targets that will sidestep many of the problems currently hindering human disease control and insect pest management. This article reviews recent work on the expression and function of GPCRs in insects, focusing on the molecular complexes governing the insect physiology and development of insecticide resistance and examining the genome information for GPCRs in two medically important insects, mosquitoes and house flies, and their orthologs in the model insect species . The tissue specific distribution and expression of the insect GPCRs is discussed, along with fresh insights into practical aspects of insect physiology and toxicology that could be fundamental for efforts to develop new, more effective, strategies for pest control and resistance management.