• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.173-178
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• 2021

The DM9 domain is a protein unit of 60-75 amino acids that has been first detected in the fruit fly Drosophila as a repeated motif of unknown function. Recent research on proteins carrying DM9 domains in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae and the oyster Crassostrea gigas indicated an association with the uptake of microbial organisms. Likewise, in the trematode Fasciola gigantica DM9-1 showed intracellular relocalization following microbial, heat and drug stress. In the present research, we show that FgDM9-1 is a lectin with a novel mannose-binding site that has been recently described for the protein CGL1 of Crassostrea gigas. This property allowed FgDM9-1 to agglutinate gram-positive and -negative bacteria with appropriate cell surface glycosylation patterns. Furthermore, FgDM9-1 caused hemagglutination across all ABO blood group phenotypes. It is speculated that the parenchymal located FgDM9-1 has a role in cellular processes that involve the transport of mannose-carrying molecules in the parenchymal cells of the parasite.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.63-67
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• 2006

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) is known to playa key role as a negative feedback regulator in JAK/STAT signaling cascade in innate immunity. Our laboratory has recently been interested in elucidating the interactions between Spodoptera exigua (Se) and SeNPV. This context leads us to clone and characterize SeSOCS that may have important functions in response to SeNPV infection. Using the RT-PCR and TA cloning approach, we found a partial fragment (416 bp) of SeSOCS. Blast search and multiple alignment data showed that it has a homology to various insects such as Anopheles gambiae (78%), Aedes aegypti (75%), Drosophila melanogastar (77%), Mus musculus (69%), and Homo sapiens (69%). Temporal induction patterns of SeSOCS were analysed after being immune-challenged with either NPV or laminarin. It showed that the level of SeSOCS mRNA was strongly induced in a biphasic manner in response to SeNPV and laminarin, respectively. It seems that SOCS, a negative regulator of JAK/STAT signaling system is also present in S. exigua and may playa role in innate immunity albeit its precise role should be further elucidated at the molecular and cellular level in the early phase of SeNPV infection in larvae.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.467-478
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• 2008

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and interSSR (ISSR) marker systems were used in this study to reveal genetic changes induced by artificial selection for short/long larval duration in the tropical strain Nistari of the silkworm Bombyx mori. Artificial selection separated longer larval duration (LLD) ($29.428{\pm}0.723days$) and shorter larval duration (SLD) ($22.573{\pm}0.839days$) lines from a base, inbred population of Nistari (larval span of $23.143{\pm}0.35days$). SSR polymorphism was observed between the LLD and SLD lines at one microsatellite locus, Bmsat106 ($CA_7$) and at two loci of 1074 bp and 823 bp generated with the ISSR primer UBC873. Each of these loci was present only in the LLD line. The loci segregated in the third generation of selection and were fixed in opposite directions. In the $F_2$ generation of the $LLD{\times}SLD$ lines, the alleles of Bmsat106 and $UBC873_{1074bp}$ segregated in a 1:1 ratio and the loci were present only in the LLD individuals. $UBC873_{823bp}$ was homozygous. Single factor ANOVA showed a significant association between the segregating loci and longer larval duration. Together, the two alleles contributed to an 18% increase in larval duration. The nucleotide sequences of the $UBC873_{1074bp}$ and $UBC873_{823bp}$ loci had 67% A/T content and consisted of direct, reverse, complementary and palindromic repeats. The repeats appeared to be "nested" (59%) in larger repeats or as clustered elements adjacent to other repeats. Of 203 microsatellites identified, dinucleotides (67.8%) predominated and were rich in A/T and T/A motifs. The sequences of the $UBC873_{1074bp}$ and $UBC873_{823bp}$ loci showed similarity (E = 0.0) to contigs located in Scaffold 010774 and Scaffold 000139, respectively, of the B. mori genome. BLASTN analysis of the $UBC873_{1074bp}$ sequence showed significant homology of (nt.) 45-122 with upstream region of three exons from Bombyx. The complete sequence of this locus showed ~49% nucleotide conservation with transposon 412 of Drosophila melanogaster and the Ikirara insertions of Anopheles gambiae. The A + T richness and lack of coding potential of these small loci, and their absence in the SLD line, reflect the active process of genetic change associated with the switch to short larval duration as an adaptation to the tropics.