Transcriptome Analysis of the Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Integument

MORICONI, DÉBORA E.; CALDERÓN FERNÁNDEZ, GUSTAVO M.; JUÁREZ, M.PATRICIA; DULBECCO, ANDREA B.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; II Reunión conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2017

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB)

Triatoma infestans Klug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) is one of the three major vectors of Chagas disease, and the main vector of trypanosomiasis in the Southern Cone countries of Latin America. The insect integument, formed by the cuticle and the epidermal tissue, plays a fundamental role in the fitness, general metabolism, communication, and survival of insects. The cuticle consists of an outer thin epicuticle, containing lipids and lipoproteins, and an inner thick procuticle, mostly formed by cuticle proteins embedding chitin. The epidermal tissue is involved in the production of the bulk of the cuticular components; among them chitin, structural cuticle proteins and lipids, together with the enzymes involved in the formation and digestion of the cuticle. A significant cuticle thickening and higher hydrocarbon content were reported in pyrethroid-resistant T. infestans compared to susceptible specimens. This work is the first transcriptome study of the triatomine integument aimed to provide preliminary evidence on the genes coding for lipid biosynthesis, detoxification enzymes and structural cuticle proteins, and its relation to the insecticide resistance in T. infestans.