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Smykal V, Chodakova L, Hejnikova M, Briedikova K, Wu BCH, Vaneckova H, Chen P, Janovska A, Kyjakova P, Vacha M, Dolezel D. Steroid receptor coactivator TAIMAN is a new modulator of insect circadian clock. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010924. [PMID: 37683015 PMCID: PMC10511111 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
TAIMAN (TAI), the only insect ortholog of mammalian Steroid Receptor Coactivators (SRCs), is a critical modulator of ecdysone and juvenile hormone (JH) signaling pathways, which govern insect development and reproduction. The modulatory effect is mediated by JH-dependent TAI's heterodimerization with JH receptor Methoprene-tolerant and association with the Ecdysone Receptor complex. Insect hormones regulate insect physiology and development in concert with abiotic cues, such as photo- and thermoperiod. Here we tested the effects of JH and ecdysone signaling on the circadian clock by a combination of microsurgical operations, application of hormones and hormone mimics, and gene knockdowns in the linden bug Pyrrhocoris apterus males. Silencing taiman by each of three non-overlapping double-strand RNA fragments dramatically slowed the free-running period (FRP) to 27-29 hours, contrasting to 24 hours in controls. To further corroborate TAIMAN's clock modulatory function in the insect circadian clock, we performed taiman knockdown in the cockroach Blattella germanica. Although Blattella and Pyrrhocoris lineages separated ~380 mya, B. germanica taiman silencing slowed the FRP by more than 2 hours, suggesting a conserved TAI clock function in (at least) some insect groups. Interestingly, the pace of the linden bug circadian clock was neither changed by blocking JH and ecdysone synthesis, by application of the hormones or their mimics nor by the knockdown of corresponding hormone receptors. Our results promote TAI as a new circadian clock modulator, a role described for the first time in insects. We speculate that TAI participation in the clock is congruent with the mammalian SRC-2 role in orchestrating metabolism and circadian rhythms, and that TAI/SRCs might be conserved components of the circadian clock in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlastimil Smykal
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Chodakova
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Marketa Hejnikova
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | | | - Bulah Chia-Hsiang Wu
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Vaneckova
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Ping Chen
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Janovska
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavlina Kyjakova
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Vacha
- Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - David Dolezel
- Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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Kmet P, Kucerova L, Sehadova H, Chia-Hsiang Wu B, Wu YL, Zurovec M. Identification of Silk Components in the Bombycoid Moth Andraca theae (Endromidae) Reveals Three Fibroin Subunits Resembling Those of Bombycidae and Sphingidae. J Insect Physiol 2023; 147:104523. [PMID: 37187341 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The silk produced by Lepidoptera caterpillars is a mixture of proteins secreted by the transformed labial glands, the silk glands (SG). The silk fiber consists of insoluble filamentous proteins that form a silk core and are produced in the posterior part of the SG and soluble coat proteins consisting of sericins and various other polypeptides secreted in the middle part of the SG. We constructed a silk gland specific transcriptome of Andraca theae and created a protein database required for peptide mass fingerprinting. We identified major silk components by proteomic analysis of cocoon silk and by searching for homologies with known silk protein sequences from other species. We identified 30 proteins including a heavy chain fibroin, a light chain fibroin and fibrohexamerin (P25) that form the silk core, as well as members of several structural families that form the silk coating. To uncover the evolutionary relationships among silk proteins, we included orthologs of silk genes from several recent genome projects and performed phylogenetic analyses. Our results confirm the recent molecular classification that the family Endromidae appears to be slightly more distant from the family Bombycidae. Our study provides important information on the evolution of silk proteins in the Bombycoidea, which is needed for proper annotation of the proteins and future functional studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Kmet
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Kucerova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Sehadova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Bulah Chia-Hsiang Wu
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Yueh-Lung Wu
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Michal Zurovec
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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Maaroufi HO, Pauchova L, Lin YH, Wu BCH, Rouhova L, Kucerova L, Vieira LC, Renner M, Sehadova H, Hradilova M, Zurovec M. Mutation in Drosophila concentrative nucleoside transporter 1 alters spermatid maturation and mating behavior. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:945572. [PMID: 36105362 PMCID: PMC9467524 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.945572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Concentrative nucleoside transporters (Cnts) are unidirectional carriers that mediate the energy-costly influx of nucleosides driven by the transmembrane sodium gradient. Cnts are transmembrane proteins that share a common structural organization and are found in all phyla. Although there have been studies on Cnts from a biochemical perspective, no deep research has examined their role at the organismal level. Here, we investigated the role of the Drosophila melanogaster cnt1 gene, which is specifically expressed in the testes. We used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate a mutation in the cnt1 gene. The cnt1 mutants exhibited defects in the duration of copulation and spermatid maturation, which significantly impaired male fertility. The most striking effect of the cnt1 mutation in spermatid maturation was an abnormal structure of the sperm tail, in which the formation of major and minor mitochondrial derivatives was disrupted. Our results demonstrate the importance of cnt1 in male fertility and suggest that the observed defects in mating behavior and spermatogenesis are due to alterations in nucleoside transport and associated metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Houda Ouns Maaroufi
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Lucie Pauchova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Yu-Hsien Lin
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Bulah Chia-Hsiang Wu
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Lenka Rouhova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Lucie Kucerova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Ligia Cota Vieira
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Marek Renner
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Hana Sehadova
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Miluse Hradilova
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Michal Zurovec
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Michal Zurovec,
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Kotwica-Rolinska J, Chodáková L, Smýkal V, Damulewicz M, Provazník J, Wu BCH, Hejníková M, Chvalová D, Doležel D. Loss of Timeless Underlies an Evolutionary Transition within the Circadian Clock. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 39:6454103. [PMID: 34893879 PMCID: PMC8789273 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Most organisms possess time-keeping devices called circadian clocks. At the molecular level, circadian clocks consist of transcription-translation feedback loops. Although some components of the negative transcription-translation feedback loop are conserved across the animals, important differences exist between typical models, such as mouse and the fruit fly. In Drosophila, the key components are PERIOD (PER) and TIMELESS (TIM-d) proteins, whereas the mammalian clock relies on PER and CRYPTOCHROME (CRY-m). Importantly, how the clock has maintained functionality during evolutionary transitions between different states remains elusive. Therefore, we systematically described the circadian clock gene setup in major bilaterian lineages and identified marked lineage-specific differences in their clock constitution. Then we performed a thorough functional analysis of the linden bug Pyrrhocoris apterus, an insect species comprising features characteristic of both the Drosophila and the mammalian clocks. Unexpectedly, the knockout of timeless-d, a gene essential for the clock ticking in Drosophila, did not compromise rhythmicity in P. apterus, it only accelerated its pace. Furthermore, silencing timeless-m, the ancestral timeless type ubiquitously present across animals, resulted in a mild gradual loss of rhythmicity, supporting its possible participation in the linden bug clock, which is consistent with timeless-m role suggested by research on mammalian models. The dispensability of timeless-d in P. apterus allows drawing a scenario in which the clock has remained functional at each step of transition from an ancestral state to the TIM-d-independent PER+CRY-mammalian system operating in extant vertebrates, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lenka Chodáková
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Vlastimil Smýkal
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Milena Damulewicz
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Provazník
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Bulah Chia-Hsiang Wu
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Hejníková
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - Daniela Chvalová
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
| | - David Doležel
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic
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Kotwica-Rolinska J, Chodakova L, Chvalova D, Kristofova L, Fenclova I, Provaznik J, Bertolutti M, Wu BCH, Dolezel D. CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Introduction and Optimization in the Non-model Insect Pyrrhocoris apterus. Front Physiol 2019; 10:891. [PMID: 31379599 PMCID: PMC6644776 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas9 technique is widely used in experimentation with human cell lines as well as with other model systems, such as mice Mus musculus, zebrafish Danio reiro, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. However, publications describing the use of CRISPR/Cas9 for genome editing in non-model organisms, including non-model insects, are scarce. The introduction of this relatively new method presents many problems even for experienced researchers, especially with the lack of procedures to tackle issues concerning the efficiency of mutant generation. Here we present a protocol for efficient genome editing in the non-model insect species Pyrrhocoris apterus. We collected data from several independent trials that targeted several genes using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and determined that several crucial optimization steps led to a remarkably increased efficiency of mutant production. The main steps are as follows: the timing of embryo injection, the use of the heteroduplex mobility assay as a screening method, in vivo testing of sgRNA efficiency, and G0 germline mosaicism screening. The timing and the method of egg injections used here need to be optimized for other species, but other here-described optimization solutions can be applied immediately for genome editing in other insect species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Kotwica-Rolinska
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Lenka Chodakova
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Daniela Chvalova
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Lucie Kristofova
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Iva Fenclova
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Jan Provaznik
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Maly Bertolutti
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Bulah Chia-Hsiang Wu
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - David Dolezel
- Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czechia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
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