Brain Proteomics of Anopheles gambiae

Abstract

Anopheles gambiae has a well-adapted system for host localization, feeding, and mating behavior, which are all governed by neuronal processes in the brain. However, there are no published reports characterizing the brain proteome to elucidate neuronal signaling mechanisms in the vector. To this end, a large-scale mapping of the brain proteome of An. gambiae was carried out using high resolution tandem mass spectrometry, revealing a repertoire of >1800 proteins, of which 15% could not be assigned any function. A large proportion of the identified proteins were predicted to be involved in diverse biological processes including metabolism, transport, protein synthesis, and olfaction. This study also led to the identification of 10 GPCR classes of proteins, which could govern sensory pathways in mosquitoes. Proteins involved in metabolic and neural processes, chromatin modeling, and synaptic vesicle transport associated with neuronal transmission were predominantly expressed in the brain. Proteogenomic analysis expanded our findings with the identification of 15 novel genes and 71 cases of gene refinements, a subset of which were validated by RT-PCR and sequencing. Overall, our study offers valuable insights into the brain physiology of the vector that could possibly open avenues for intervention strategies for malaria in the future.

Changes in the Plasma Proteome of Manduca sexta Larvae in Relation to the Transcriptome Variations after an Immune Challenge: Evidence for High Molecular Weight Immune Complex Formation

“…Fat body, analogous to vertebrate adipose tissues and liver, is the major source of insect plasma proteins. Several studies have described compositions of insect hemolymph proteomes of the fruit fly, honeybee, mosquito, and silkworm (11)(12)(13)(14)(15), but little is known about proteometranscriptome correlations, posttranslational modifications, or protein complex formation during immune responses.…”

Shotgun proteomic analysis of Bombyx mori brain: emphasis on regulation of behavior and development of the nervous system

“…As the main component of the central nervous system, the brain plays essential roles in coordinating different types of behavior, receiving and transmitting external signals, regulating the growth and development of insects (Straussa et al ., ). Although there are some works reporting on the brain proteome of several insect species revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying a number of behaviors and neurodevelopment (Hernández et al ., ; Dwivedi et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ), there is little known about how the brain controls and regulates behavior and the types of proteins participating in growth and development of the nervous system in B. mori . Intrigued by this, we used the shotgun proteomic technology to investigate the brain proteome of B. mori .…”

“…Dwivedi et al . () used high‐resolution tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to obtain the brain proteome to elucidate neuronal signaling mechanisms in Anopheles gambiae , and revealed a high number of proteins involved in neural processes, synaptic vesicle transport and neuronal transmission.…”

Description of a Brain Neuropeptidome of the Malaria Vector Nyssorhynchus Albimanus and Neuropeptide Differential Expression During Infection with Plasmodium Berghei

“…The Ny. albimanus ortholog set was used to identi ed genes with recognized expression in the brain of the aforementioned insects [60][61][62]. A GO type enrichment analysis for biological processes, molecular functions and cellular components was performed using the R TopGO library [63].…”

“…albimanus groups (P. berghei-infected and control), we compiled a dataset (referencedataset) of FASTA sequences from the Database for Insect Neuropeptide Research (DINeR) [65], as well as previously published neuropeptides and neuropeptide receptors of An. gambiae [61] and Ae. aegypti [62], and neuropeptide and brain expressed genes of D. melanogaster [60].…”