Identification of neuropeptide F in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

by 1973- Stanek, Dawn M.

13 STANEK, D.M., POHL, J., CRIM, J.W., BROWN, M. R. Identification of a neuropeptide F in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L). To be submitted to Peptides 2001. A neuropeptide F (NPF) was isolated from an extract of adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with high performance liquid chromatography, based on its immunoreactivity to Drosophila melanogaster NPF antiserum in a radioimmunoassay. A partial sequence was obtained for the mosquito peptide, and a cDNA coding for NPF was deduced from products obtained by the polymerase chain reaction. Similar to invertebrate NPF’s and the neuropeptide Y family of vertebrates, the encoded, putative prepropeptide was processed into an NPF with 36 amino acids that is amidated at the carboxy terminus. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated expression of Aedes aegypti NPF (AeaNPF) in 6 to 8 brain cells, approximately 40 cells in adult male and larval midgut, and approximately 350 cells in the adult female midgut. The highest titers of NPF in the hemolymph of females were detected pre-blood meal and 24 hours post-blood meal. Purification of this material allowed for the determination of the native form of AeaNPF. Northern analyses detected AeaNPF transcript in the brain and midgut of female A. aegypti, substantiating immunocytochemical findings. Index terms: Insect, Diptera, Midgut, Neuropeptide F