Characterization of ABC-transporters, a detoxification-related gene family in the Chagas? disease vector Rhodnius prolixus

TRAVERSO LUCILA; JOSE MANUEL LATORRE ESTIVALIS; ONS SHEILA

Buenos AIres

Conferencia; 4ta Conferencia Internacional de Bioinformática y Biología Computacional; 2016

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; font-variant: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; page-break-inside: auto; text-decoration: none; page-break-after: avoid; }p.western { font-family: "Calibri",serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; }p.cjk { font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; }p.ctl { font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 11pt; }BackgroundChagas?disease is a neglected human disease with 8 million people infectedin Latin America. The causative agent is the protozoan Trypanosomacruzi, which is transmitted to humans by triatomine bugs. The genome ofRhodniusprolixus, thesecond most important Chagas? disease vector, has been recentlysequenced. Even though insecticide resistance in triatomines is amedical concern in South America, the detoxification mechanisms inthese insects remain poorly studied. ATP-binding cassette (ABC)transporters are members of a conserved gene family which has beenrelated to drug resistance phenomenon in vertebrates. In insects,some members of this family were involved in insecticide resistance.We present a complete characterization of the ABC-transporter genefamily in the R.prolixus genome.ResultsWefound a total of 56 ABC-transporter genes by means of BLASTPsearches, and established orthology relationships with severalDrosophilamelanogastergenes. Using transcriptomic data and RT-PCR, we determined theexpression pattern of some ABC genes in central nervous system andperipheral tissues.ConclusionsWepresent the first report of ABC transporters in a Chagas? diseasevector. For some particular ABC transcripts, the observed expressionpattern was consistent with their putative role in insecticidedetoxification. Furthermore, we detected species-specificamplifications in particular ABC-subfamilies. The identification ofABC-transporter genes in this vector open up possibilities to performgenetic, molecular and physiological experiments to understand thedetoxification potential in triatomines.