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Biochemistry Feb 2017Arthropods, especially ticks and mosquitoes, are the vectors for a number of parasitic and viral human diseases, including malaria, sleeping sickness, Dengue, and Zika,... (Review)
Review
Arthropods, especially ticks and mosquitoes, are the vectors for a number of parasitic and viral human diseases, including malaria, sleeping sickness, Dengue, and Zika, yet arthropods show tremendous individual variation in their capacity to transmit disease. A key factor in this capacity is the group of genetically encoded immune factors that counteract infection by the pathogen. Arthropod-specific pattern recognition receptors and protease cascades detect and respond to infection. Proteins such as antimicrobial peptides, thioester-containing proteins, and transglutaminases effect responses such as lysis, phagocytosis, melanization, and agglutination. Effector responses are initiated by damage signals such as reactive oxygen species signaling from epithelial cells and recognized by cell surface receptors on hemocytes. Antiviral immunity is primarily mediated by siRNA pathways but coupled with interferon-like signaling, antimicrobial peptides, and thioester-containing proteins. Molecular mechanisms of immunity are closely linked to related traits of longevity and fertility, and arthropods have the capacity for innate immunological memory. Advances in understanding vector immunity can be leveraged to develop novel control strategies for reducing the rate of transmission of both ancient and emerging threats to global health.
Topics: Animals; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Arthropod Proteins; Arthropod Vectors; Arthropods; Fertility; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Immunity, Innate; Insect Proteins; Peptide Hydrolases; Phagocytosis; Reactive Oxygen Species; Receptors, Pattern Recognition
PubMed: 28072517
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00870 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... May 2016Aquaculture contributes more than one-third of the animal protein from marine sources worldwide. A significant proportion of aquaculture products are derived from marine... (Review)
Review
Aquaculture contributes more than one-third of the animal protein from marine sources worldwide. A significant proportion of aquaculture products are derived from marine protostomes that are commonly referred to as 'marine invertebrates'. Among them, penaeid shrimp (Ecdysozosoa, Arthropoda) and bivalve molluscs (Lophotrochozoa, Mollusca) are economically important. Mass rearing of arthropods and molluscs causes problems with pathogens in aquatic ecosystems that are exploited by humans. Remarkably, species of corals (Cnidaria) living in non-exploited ecosystems also suffer from devastating infectious diseases that display intriguing similarities with those affecting farmed animals. Infectious diseases affecting wild and farmed animals that are present in marine environments are predicted to increase in the future. This paper summarizes the role of the main pathogens and their interaction with host immunity, with a specific focus on antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and pathogen resistance against AMPs. We provide a detailed review of penaeid shrimp AMPs and their role at the interface between the host and its resident/pathogenic microbiota. We also briefly describe the relevance of marine invertebrate AMPs in an applied context.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides'.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Invertebrates; Penaeidae
PubMed: 27160602
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0300 -
Annual Review of Entomology 2009Ecdysteroids are multifunctional hormones in male and female arthropods and are stored in oocytes for use during embryogenesis. Ecdysteroid biosynthesis and its hormonal... (Review)
Review
Ecdysteroids are multifunctional hormones in male and female arthropods and are stored in oocytes for use during embryogenesis. Ecdysteroid biosynthesis and its hormonal regulation are demonstrated for insect gonads, but not for the gonads of other arthropods. The Y-organ in the cephalothorax of crustaceans and the integument of ticks are sources of secreted ecdysteroids in adults, as in earlier stages, but the tissue source is not known for adults in many arthropod groups. Ecdysteroid metabolism occurs in several tissues of adult arthropods. This review summarizes the evidence for ecdysteroid biosynthesis by gonads and its metabolism in adult arthropods and considers the apparent uniqueness of ecdysteroid hormones in arthropods, given the predominance of vertebrate-type steroids in sister invertebrate groups and vertebrates.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Ecdysteroids; Gonads
PubMed: 18680437
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093334 -
Journal of Proteomics Aug 2021In this compilation we collect information about the main protein components in hemolymph and stress the continued interest in their study. The reasons for such an... (Review)
Review
In this compilation we collect information about the main protein components in hemolymph and stress the continued interest in their study. The reasons for such an attention span several areas of biological, veterinarian and medical applications: from the notions for better dealing with the species - belonging to phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea, and to phylum Mollusca - of economic interest, to the development of 'marine drugs' from the peptides that, in invertebrates, act as antimicrobial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and/or antiviral agents. Overall, the topic most often on focus is that of innate immunity operated by classes of pattern-recognition proteins. SIGNIFICANCE: The immune response in invertebrates relies on innate rather than on adaptive/acquired effectors. At a difference from the soluble and membrane-bound immunoglobulins and receptors in vertebrates, the antimicrobial, antifungal, antiprotozoal and/or antiviral agents in invertebrates interact with non-self material by targeting some common (rather than some highly specific) structural motifs. Developing this paradigm into (semi) synthetic pharmaceuticals, possibly optimized through the modeling opportunities offered by computational biochemistry, is one of the lessons today's science may learn from the study of marine invertebrates, and specifically of the proteins and peptides in their hemolymph.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Arthropods; Hemolymph; Invertebrates; Mollusca
PubMed: 34091091
DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2021.104294 -
Annual Review of Entomology Jan 2023Parasitoid wasps are important components of insect food chains and have played a central role in biological control programs for over a century. Although the vast... (Review)
Review
Parasitoid wasps are important components of insect food chains and have played a central role in biological control programs for over a century. Although the vast majority of parasitoids exploit insect herbivores as hosts, others parasitize predatory insects and arthropods, such as ladybird beetles, hoverflies, lacewings, ground beetles, and spiders, or are hyperparasitoids. Much of the research on the biology and ecology of parasitoids of predators has focused on ladybird beetles, whose parasitoids may interfere with the control of insect pests like aphids by reducing ladybird abundance. Alternatively, parasitoids of the invasive ladybird may reduce its harmful impact on native ladybird populations. Different life stages of predatory insects and spiders are susceptible to parasitism to different degrees. Many parasitoids of predators exhibit intricate physiological interrelationships with their hosts, adaptively manipulating host behavior, biology, and ecology in ways that increase parasitoid survival and fitness.
Topics: Animals; Wasps; Ecology; Coleoptera; Food Chain; Aphids; Spiders; Predatory Behavior
PubMed: 36198401
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120120-111607 -
Microbiology Spectrum Aug 2015Arthropod-borne diseases are a major problem whenever outdoor activities bring arthropods and people into contact. The arthropods discussed here include arachnids... (Review)
Review
Arthropod-borne diseases are a major problem whenever outdoor activities bring arthropods and people into contact. The arthropods discussed here include arachnids (ticks) and insects. Most arthropod bites and stings are minor, with the notable exception being bee-sting anaphylaxis. Ticks cause the most disease transmission. Key hard tick vectors include black-legged (Ixodes), dog (Dermacentor), and lone star (Amblyomma) ticks, which transmit Lyme and various rickettsial diseases. Insect repellents, permethrin sprays, and proper tick inspection reduce this risk significantly. Lyme disease and the milder southern-tick-associated rash illness (STARI) are characterized by the erythema migrans rash followed, in the case of Lyme disease, by early, disseminated, and late systemic symptoms. Treatment is with doxycycline or ceftriaxone. Indefinite treatment of "chronic Lyme disease" based on subjective symptoms is not beneficial. Rickettsial diseases include ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which are characterized by fever, headache, and possible rash and should be empirically treated with doxycycline while awaiting laboratory confirmation. Tularemia is a bacterial disease (Francisella) spread by ticks and rabbits and characterized by fever and adenopathy. Treatment is with gentamicin or streptomycin. Babesiosis is a protozoal disease, mimicking malaria, that causes a self-limited flu-like disease in healthy hosts but can be life threatening with immune compromise. Treatment is with atovaquone and azithromycin. Other tick-related conditions include viral diseases (Powassan, Colorado tick fever, heartland virus), tick-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia), and tick paralysis (toxin). Mosquitoes, lice, fleas, and mites are notable for their annoying bites but are increasingly significant disease vectors even in the United States.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Bacterial Infections; Camping; Disease Vectors; Humans; Parasitic Diseases; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 26350321
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.IOL5-0001-2014 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jan 2016Arthropods show considerable variations in early neurogenesis. This includes the pattern of specification, division and movement of neural precursors and progenitors. In... (Review)
Review
Arthropods show considerable variations in early neurogenesis. This includes the pattern of specification, division and movement of neural precursors and progenitors. In all metazoans with nervous systems, including arthropods, conserved genes regulate neurogenesis, which raises the question of how the various morphological mechanisms have emerged and how the same genetic toolkit might generate different morphological outcomes. Here I address this question by comparing neurogenesis across arthropods and show how variations in the regulation and function of the neural genes might explain this phenomenon and how they might have facilitated the evolution of the diverse morphological mechanisms of neurogenesis.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Biological Evolution; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Neurogenesis
PubMed: 26598727
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0044 -
Viruses Aug 2020Arthropod-borne viruses contribute significantly to global mortality and morbidity in humans and animals. These viruses are mainly transmitted between susceptible... (Review)
Review
Arthropod-borne viruses contribute significantly to global mortality and morbidity in humans and animals. These viruses are mainly transmitted between susceptible vertebrate hosts by hematophagous arthropod vectors, especially mosquitoes. Recently, there has been substantial attention for a novel group of viruses, referred to as insect-specific viruses (ISVs) which are exclusively maintained in mosquito populations. Recent discoveries of novel insect-specific viruses over the past years generated a great interest not only in their potential use as vaccine and diagnostic platforms but also as novel biological control agents due to their ability to modulate arbovirus transmission. While arboviruses infect both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, the replication of insect-specific viruses is restricted in vertebrates at multiple stages of virus replication. The vertebrate restriction factors include the genetic elements of ISVs (structural and non-structural genes and the untranslated terminal regions), vertebrate host factors (agonists and antagonists), and the temperature-dependent microenvironment. A better understanding of these bottlenecks is thus warranted. In this review, we explore these factors and the complex interplay between ISVs and their hosts contributing to this host restriction phenomenon.
Topics: Animals; Arboviruses; Arthropods; Host Specificity; Humans; Insect Viruses; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 32878245
DOI: 10.3390/v12090964 -
Current Biology : CB Jul 2010
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Ecosystem; Feeding Behavior; Oceans and Seas; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 20656197
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2010.05.034 -
Clinical Microbiology Reviews Jan 2014The collection, handling, identification, and reporting of ectoparasitic arthropods in clinical and reference diagnostic laboratories are discussed in this review.... (Review)
Review
The collection, handling, identification, and reporting of ectoparasitic arthropods in clinical and reference diagnostic laboratories are discussed in this review. Included are data on ticks, mites, lice, fleas, myiasis-causing flies, and bed bugs. The public health importance of these organisms is briefly discussed. The focus is on the morphological identification and proper handling and reporting of cases involving arthropod ectoparasites, particularly those encountered in the United States. Other arthropods and other organisms not of public health concern, but routinely submitted to laboratories for identification, are also briefly discussed.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Classification; Ectoparasitic Infestations; Humans; Laboratories; Specimen Handling; United States
PubMed: 24396136
DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00008-13