Decoding the ubiquitin-mediated pathway of arthropod disease vectors
Autor(es): Choy, Anthony; Severo, Maiara S.; Sun, Ruobai; Girke, Thomas; Gillespie, Joseph J.; Pedra, Joao H. F.
Resumo: Protein regulation by ubiquitin has been extensively described in model organisms. However, characterization of the ubiquitin machinery in disease vectors remains mostly unknown. This fundamental gap in knowledge presents a concern because new therapeutics are needed to control vector-borne diseases, and targeting the ubiquitin machinery as a means for disease intervention has been already adopted in the clinic. In this study, we employed a bioinformatics approach to uncover the ubiquitin-mediated pathway in the genomes of Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, Ixodes scapularis, Pediculus humanus and Rhodnius prolixus. We observed that (1) disease vectors encode a lower percentage of ubiquitin-related genes when compared to Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus and Homo sapiens but not Saccharomyces cerevisiae; (2) overall, there are more proteins categorized as E3 ubiquitin ligases when compared to E2-conjugating or E1-activating enzymes; (3) the ubiquitin machinery within the three mosquito genomes is highly similar; (4) ubiquitin genes are more than doubled in the Chagas disease vector (R. prolixus) when compared to other arthropod vectors; (5) the deer tick I. scapularis and the body louse (P. humanus) genomes carry low numbers of E1-activating enzymes and HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligases; (6) R. prolixus have low numbers of RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligases; and (7) C. quinquefasciatus present elevated numbers of predicted F-box E3 ubiquitin ligases, JAB and UCH deubiquitinases. Taken together, these findings provide novel opportunities to study the interaction between a pathogen and an arthropod vector.
Palavras-Chave: Crystal -Structure; Protein; Yeast; Proteomics; Infection; Genomics; Insecticides; Improvements; Mechanisms; Pathogens
Imprenta: Plos One, v. 8, n. 10, 2013
Identificador do objeto digital: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078077
Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Genome ; Aedes aegypti - Public health
Data de publicação: 2013
