Functional studies on Orcokinin neuropeptides in the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus

ONS SHEILA; JUAN PEDRO WULFF

Cafayate

Conferencia; Invertebrate Neuropeptide Conference 2017; 2017

p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; }Orcokininsare members of the ?basal neuropeptide set? found in every insectspecies analyzed until now, even though their physiological functionwas not well determined to date. We provide evidence for a centralrole of Orcokinin neuropeptides in the regulation of ecdysis behaviorin the Chagas? disease vector Rhodniusprolixus. The silencing of Orcokiningene affects the ecdysis process, as much as the expression ofclassical ecdysis hormones as Corazonin, EH, ETH and CCAP. Theexpression pattern of the different forms of the RhoprOKgene was evaluated by immuno-histochemistry in central nervous system(CNS) and peripheral organs. OKA-like expression was detectedthroughout CNS and in gonads, whereas OKB-like expression wasdetected in CNS, gonads and midgut. This expression pattern suggestspleiotropic functions for the products for RhoprOK gene. The resultspoint to a central role of Orcokinins in the hormonal regulation ofecdysis in Rhodnius prolixus,as much as other roles that remain to be determined. Our and previousdata suggest a conserved role of Orcokinins in the regulation ofinnate behaviors in insects.