The biological clock of an hematophagous insect: Locomotor activity rhythms, circadian expression and downregulation after a blood meal

Despite the importance of circadian rhythms in vector-borne disease transmission, very little is known about its molecular control in hematophagous insect vectors. In Drosophila melanogaster, a negative feedback loop of gene expression has been shown to contribute to the clock mechanism. Here, we de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEBS letters 2006-01, Vol.580 (1), p.2-8
Main Authors: Meireles-Filho, Antonio C.A., da S. Rivas, Gustavo B., Gesto, João S.M., Machado, Ricardo C., Britto, Constança, de Souza, Nataly A., Peixoto, Alexandre A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Clocks - genetics
Blood-feeding
Circadian Rhythm - genetics
Circadian rhythms
Clock
Down-Regulation - physiology
Drosophila melanogaster
Eating - physiology
Female
Insect Proteins - genetics
Insect vector
Insect Vectors - physiology
Leishmaniasis, Visceral - transmission
Lutzomyia longipalpis
Luzomyia longipalpis
Male
Period
Psychodidae - physiology
Timeless
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Summary:Despite the importance of circadian rhythms in vector-borne disease transmission, very little is known about its molecular control in hematophagous insect vectors. In Drosophila melanogaster, a negative feedback loop of gene expression has been shown to contribute to the clock mechanism. Here, we describe some features of the circadian clock of the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of visceral leishmaniasis. Compared to D. melanogaster, sandfly period and timeless, two negative elements of the feedback loop, show similar peaks of mRNA abundance. On the other hand, the expression of Clock (a positive transcription factor) differs between the two species, raising the possibility that the different phases of Clock expression could be associated with the observed differences in circadian activity rhythms. In addition, we show a reduction in locomotor activity after a blood meal, which is correlated with downregulation of period and timeless expression levels. Our results suggest that the circadian pacemaker and its control over the activity rhythms in this hematophagous insect are modulated by blood intake.
ISSN:0014-5793
1873-3468
DOI:10.1016/j.febslet.2005.11.031