OKB, a novel family of brain-gut neuropeptides from insects

MARCOS STERKEL; PEDRO L. OLIVEIRA; SALVADOR HERNANDEZ-MARTINEZ; HENNING URLAUB; ROLANDO RIVERA-POMAR; SHEILA ONS

Fos do Iguazu

Congreso; XLI Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Brasileña de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SBBq); 2012

Sociedad Brasileña de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SBBq)

In insects, neuropeptides play a central role in the control of most physiological processes. The knowledge and characterization of new neuropeptide families it is of interest on the fields of Genetics, Genomics, Neurobiology, Endocrinology and Evolution. This knowledge also provides the tools for the design of peptidomimetics, pseudopeptides or small molecules, capable of disrupting the physiological processes regulated by the signaling molecules and their receptors. This is a promising target for a novel generation of insecticides. Using database searches, mass spectrometry and RACE-PCR, we identified a neuropeptide precursor transcript encoding a new family of insect neuropeptides in the hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus, which was so far unknown in insects. We named this precursor Orcokinin B, because is originated by the alternative splicing of the Orcokinin gen. EST and genomic data suggests that OKB is expressed in the nervous system and gut from several insect species, with the exception of Drosophila spp. (Diptera) and Acyirthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera). We also identified orthologues of this new family of peptides in genomic and EST databases from Arachnids and Crustaceans.