The Insect SNMP Gene Family

Abstract

SNMPs are membrane proteins observed to associate with chemosensory neurons in insects; in Drosophila melanogaster, SNMP1 has been shown to be essential for the detection of the pheromone cisvaccenyl acetate (CVA). SNMPs are one of three insect gene clades related to the human fatty acid transporter CD36. We previously characterized the CD36 gene family in 4 insect Orders that effectively cover the Holometabola, or some 80% of known insect species and the 300 million years of evolution since this lineage emerged: Lepidoptera (e.g. Bombyx mori, Antheraea polyphemus, Manduca sexta, Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa assulta, Helicoverpa armigera, Mamestra brassicae); Diptera (D. melanogaster Drosophila pseudoobscura, Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus); Hymenoptera (Apis mellifera); and Coleoptera (Tribolium castaneum). This previous study suggested a complex topography within the SNMP clade including a strongly supported SNMP1 sub-clade plus additional SNMP genes. To further resolve the SNMP clade here, we used cDNA sequences of SNMP1 and SNMP2 from various Lepidoptera species, D. melanogaster and Ae. aegypti, as well as BAC derived genomic sequences from Ae. aegypti as models for proposing corrected sequences of orthologues in the D. pseudoobscura and An. gambiae genomes, and for identifying orthologues in the B. mori and C. pipiens q. genomes. We then used these sequences to analyze the SNMP clade of the insect CD36 gene family supporting the existence of two well supported sub-clades, SNMP1 and SNMP2, throughout the dipteran and lepidopteran lineages, and plausibly throughout the Holometabola and across a broad evolutionary time scale. We present indirect evidence based on evolutionary selection (dN/dS) that the dipteran SNMPs are expressed as functional proteins.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA601521

Entities

People

  • Jackson Sparks
  • Jon Staples
  • Joseph C. Dickens
  • Natalie E. Miller
  • Rachel Litvack
  • Richard A. Fandino
  • Richard G. Vogt
  • Robert Friedman

Organizations

  • University of South Carolina

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Sciences
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Chromosomes
  • Detection
  • Diptera
  • Drosophila
  • Entomology
  • Fatty Acids
  • Genetics
  • Insects
  • Lepidoptera
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pests
  • Proteins

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Vector-Borne Disease and Entomology