Characterization of α-Glucosidases From Lutzomyia longipalpis Reveals Independent Hydrolysis Systems for Plant or Blood Sugars

Lutzomyia longipalpis is the main vector of Leishmania infantum and exploits different food sources during development. Adults have a diet rich in sugars, and females also feed on blood. The sugar diet is essential for maintaining longevity, infection, and Leishmaniasis transmission. Carbohydrases, including α-glucosidases, are the main enzymes involved in the digestion of sugars. In this context, we studied the modulation of α-glucosidase activities in different feeding conditions and compartments of Lutzomyia longipalpis females, in order to characterize in detail their roles in the physiology of this insect. All tissues showed activity against MUαGlu and sucrose, with highest activities in the midgut and crop. Activity was 1,000 times higher on sucrose than on MUαGlu. Basal activities were observed in non-fed insects; blood feeding induced activity in the midgut contents, and sugar feeding modulated activity in midgut tissues. α-glucosidase activity changed after female exposure to different sugar concentrations or moieties. α-glucosidases from different tissues showed different biochemical properties, with an optimum pH around 7.0–8.0 and KM between 0.37 and 4.7 mM, when MUαGlu was used as substrate. Using sucrose as substrate, the optimum pH was around 6.0, and KM ranges between 11 and 800 mM. Enzymes from the crop and midgut tissues showed inhibition in high substrate concentrations (sucrose), with KI ranging from 39 to 400 mM, which explains the high KM values found. Chromatographic profiles confirmed that different α-glucosidases are been produced in L. longipalpis in different physiological contexts, with the distinction of at least four α-glucosidases. The results suggest that some of these enzymes are involved in different metabolic processes, like digestion of plant sugars, digestion of blood glycoproteins or glycolipids, and mobilization of energetic storages during starvation

Microorganism-Based Larval Diets Affect Mosquito Development, Size and Nutritional Reserves in the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

BackgroundMosquito larvae feed on organic detritus from the environment, particularly microorganisms comprising bacteria, protozoa, and algae as well as crustaceans, plant debris, and insect exuviae. Little attention has been paid to nutritional studies in Aedes aegypti larvae.ObjectivesWe investigated the effects of yeast, bacteria and microalgae diets on larval development, pupation time, adult size, emergence, survivorship, lifespan, and wing morphology.Materials and MethodsMicroorganisms (or Tetramin® as control) were offered as the only source of food to recently hatched first instar larvae and their development was followed until the adult stage. Protein, carbohydrate, glycogen, and lipid were analyzed in single larvae to correlate energetic reserve accumulation by larva with the developmental rates and nutritional content observed. FITC-labeled microorganisms were offered to fourth instar larvae, and its ingestion was recorded by fluorescence microscopy and quantitation.Results and DiscussionImmature stages developed in all diets, however, larvae fed with bacteria and microalgae showed a severe delay in development rates, pupation time, adult emergence and low survivorship. Adult males emerged earlier as expected and had longer survival than females. Diets with better nutritional quality resulted in adults with bigger wings. Asaia sp. and Escherichia coli resulted in better nutrition and developmental parameters and seemed to be the best bacterial candidates to future studies using symbiont-based control. The diet quality was measured and presented different protein and carbohydrate amounts. Bacteria had the lowest protein and carbohydrate rates, yeasts had the highest carbohydrate amount and microalgae showed the highest protein content. Larvae fed with microalgae seem not to be able to process and store these diets properly. Larvae were shown to be able to process yeast cells and store their energetic components efficiently.ConclusionTogether, our results point that Ae. aegypti larvae show high plasticity to feed, being able to develop under different microorganism-based diets. The important role of Ae. aegypti in the spread of infectious diseases requires further biological studies in order to understand the vector physiology and thus to manage the larval natural breeding sites aiming a better mosquito control

Biochemical and Functional Characterization of Glycoside Hydrolase Family 16 Genes in Aedes aegypti Larvae: Identification of the Major Digestive β-1,3-Glucanase

Insect β-1,3-glucanases belong to Glycoside Hydrolase Family 16 (GHF16) and are involved in digestion of detritus and plant hemicellulose. In this work, we investigated the role of GHF16 genes in Aedes aegypti larvae, due to their detritivore diet. Aedes aegypti genome has six genes belonging to GHF16 (Aae GH16.1 – Aae GH16.6), containing two to six exons. Sequence analysis suggests that five of these GHF16 sequences (Aae GH16.1, 2, 3, 5, and 6) contain the conserved catalytic residues of this family and correspond to glucanases. All genomes of Nematocera analyzed showed putative gene duplications corresponding to these sequences. Aae GH16.4 has no conserved catalytic residues and is probably a β-1,3-glucan binding protein involved in the activation of innate immune responses. Additionally, Ae. aegypti larvae contain significant β-1,3-glucanase activities in the head, gut and rest of body. These activities have optimum pH about 5–6 and molecular masses between 41 and 150 kDa. All GHF16 genes above showed different levels of expression in the larval head, gut or rest of the body. Knock-down of AeGH16.5 resulted in survival and pupation rates lower than controls (dsGFP and water treated). However, under stress conditions, severe mortalities were observed in AeGH16.1 and AeGH16.6 knocked-down larvae. Enzymatic assays of β-1,3-glucanase in AeGH16.5 silenced larvae exhibited lower activity in the gut and no change in the rest of the body. Chromatographic activity profiles from gut samples after GH16.5 silencing showed suppression of enzymatic activity, suggesting that this gene codes for the digestive larval β-1,3-glucanase of Ae. aegypti. This gene and enzyme are attractive targets for new control strategies, based on the impairment of normal gut physiology

Digestion of yeasts and Beta-1, 3-Glucanases in mosquito larvae:physiological and biochemical considerations

Aedes aegypti larvae ingest several kinds of microorganisms. In spite of studies regarding mosquito digestion, little is known about the nutritional utilization of ingested cells by larvae. We investigated the effects of using yeasts as the sole nutrient source for A. aegypti larvae. We also assessed the role of beta-1,3-glucanases in digestion of live yeast cells. Beta-1,3-glucanases are enzymes which hydrolyze the cell wall beta-1,3-glucan polyssacharide. Larvae were fed with cat food (controls), live or autoclaved Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and larval weight, time for pupation and adult emergence, larval and pupal mortality were measured. The presence of S. cerevisiae cells inside the larval gut was demonstrated by light microscopy. Beta-1,3-glucanase was measured in dissected larval samples. Viability assays were performed with live yeast cells and larval gut homogenates, with or without addition of competing beta-1,3-glucan. A. aegypti larvae fed with yeast cells were heavier at the 4th instar and showed complete development with normal mortality rates. Yeast cells were efficiently ingested by larvae and quickly killed (10% death in 2h, 100% in 48h). Larvae showed beta-1,3-glucanase in head, gut and rest of body. Gut beta-1,3-glucanase was not derived from ingested yeast cells. Gut and rest of body activity was not affected by the yeast diet, but head homogenates showed a lower activity in animals fed with autoclaved S. cerevisiae cells. The enzymatic lysis of live S. cerevisiae cells was demonstrated using gut homogenates, and this activity was abolished when excess beta-1,3-glucan was added to assays. These results show that live yeast cells are efficiently ingested and hydrolyzed by A. aegypti larvae, which are able to fully-develop on a diet based exclusively on these organisms. Beta-1,3-glucanase seems to be essential for yeast lytic activity of A. aegypti larvae, which possess significant amounts of these enzyme in all parts investigated

Development of Leishmania mexicana in Lutzomyia longipalpis in the absence of sugar feeding

The leishmaniases are caused by Leishmania parasites and transmitted through the bites of phlebotomine sand flies. During parasite development inside the vector's midgut, promastigotes move towards the stomodeal valve, a mechanism that is crucial for transmission. It has been reported that the sugar meal acquired by sand flies during feeding between bloodmeals is essential for the development and migration of parasites. We demonstrated that the distribution of Leishmania mexicana parasites was affected by the sugar meals obtained by the sand flies. Promastigote migration towards the cardia region seems to be only partially based on the stimuli provided by sugar molecules. In the absence of sugars, significant amounts of parasites developed in the hindgut. In addition, sugar meals were important for the survival of sand flies, especially during blood digestion, presumably supporting their energy requirements

Purification and characterization of digestive beta-glucanases from Periplaneta americana (Dictyoptera)

Periplaneta americana apresenta em seu tubo digestivo pelo menos oito atividades β-glucanásicas distintas. Destas, cinco puderam ser purificadas até a homogeneidade e parcialmente caracterizadas. LAM (Mr=46.000) apresenta atividade exclusiva sobre laminarina, é inibida por altas concentrações de substrato e gera oligossacarídeos de baixo grau de polimerização (1 a 4) a partir de laminarina solúvel. LIQl (Mr=24.600) é capaz de hidrolisar laminarina e liquenana, produzindo oligossacarídeos de grau de polimerização 1, 2 e 4 a partir de laminarina solúvel e um único oligossacarídeo (grau de polimerização entre 3 e 4) a partir de liquenana. LIQ 2 (Mr= 22.300) é capaz de clivar laminarina e liquenana e é inibida por laminarina, clivando apenas ligações internas ao polímero. CELl e CEL2 (Mr=71.600 e 72.700) clivam liquenana e carboximetilcelulose, também atacando apenas ligações internas destes polissacarídeos. CELl e CEL2 também são capazes de atacar celulose cristalina. Todas as β-glucanases purificadas apresentam um pH ótimo em torno de 6,0, próximo ao pH luminal, e são relativamente estáveis em condições fisiológicas. Estas enzimas são purificadas a partir da fração solúvel do tubo digestivo do inseto em quantidades muito pequenas (até 7µg), o que inviabiliza sua caracterização estrutural refinada. Além destas proteínas, o sistema β-glucanásico de P. americana conta com duas celulases de baixo peso molecular (Mr= 15.000 e 17.000), e uma atividade ainda não caracterizada. Aparentemente, estas enzimas estão envolvidas na digestão incompleta da celulose e hemiceluloses ingeridas pelo inseto. LIQ 1 possui capacidade lítica sobre células de Saccharomyces cerevisiae, podendo estar envolvida na defesa do epitélio contra agentes infecciosos.P. americana midgut has at least eight β-glucanases. Five were purified and partially characterized. LAM (Mr=46,000) is active only upon soluble laminarin, is inhibited by high amounts of substrate, and releases small oligosaccharides (1 to 4 glucoses). LIQ1 (Mr=24,600) is active upon laminarin and lichenan, releasing oligosaccharides with 1,2 and 4 glucosyl residues from soluble laminarin and only one oligossacharide, with a degree of polimerization between 3 and 4, from lichenan. LIQ2 (Mr=22,300) is active upon laminarin and lichenan and hydrolyzes only internal bond. CEL1 and CEL2 are active upon lichenan and carboxymethylcellulose, hydrolyzing internal bonds in these substrates. CEL1 and CEL2 also attack AVICEL. All β-glucanase activities have an optimum pH around 6.0 (near luminal pH) and are stable under physiological conditions. These enzymes are purified in very low amounts (up to 7µg from 10 animais). P. americana &#946,-glucanasic system also has two cellulases of low molecular weight (Mr= 15,000 and 17,000), and another not yet characterized. Probably these enzymes are involved in incomplete digestion of cellulose and hemicellulose ingested by the insect. LIQ 1 lyses Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, and may be involved in epithelium defense against microorganisms

Purification and characterization of β-1,3-glucanases from insects

P. americana e T. molitor são capazes de secretar β-1,3-glucanases no tubo digestivo, pelas glândulas salivares e pelo epitélio do ventrículo, respectivamente. As laminarinases majoritárias de P. americana (LIQ1, 42kDa; LAM_P, 45kDa), A. flavolineata (LAM_A, 45kDa) e T. molitor (LAM_T, 50kDa) foram purificadas até a homogeneidade. Essas enzimas têm diferentes especificidades, padrões de ação e resíduos envolvidos em catálise, fazendo parte dos E.C. 3.2.1.6 - endo-β-1,3(4)-glucanase (LIQ1), E.C. 3.2.1.39 - endo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_P) ou E.C. 3.2.1.58 - exo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_A e LAMT). O papel dessas enzimas é digerir β-glucanas de fungos e de cereais. LAM_P e LAMA são inibidas por laminarina, pela formação de complexos enzima-substrato não-produtivos. LIQ1, LAM_P e LAM_A são enzimas processivas, com diferentes graus de ataque múltiplo e produzem série distintas de oligossacarídeos. LAM_A possui um sítio acessório de ligação para laminarina, o qual pode estar envolvido no mecanismo de processividade. Quitinases digestivas de insetos podem ser diferentes das descritas até o momento. A. flavolineata e T. molitor possuem sistemas celulásicos completos. Os três insetos apresentam proteínas de baixo peso molecular capazes de ligar-se a celulose ou a pachyman. O ancestral dos hexapoda provavelmente possuía β-1,3 e β-1,3(4) glucanases digestivas associadas a um hábito detritívoro.P. americana salivary glands and T. molitor midgut epithelium actively secrete laminarinases into the midgut. The major laminarinases from P. americana (LIQ1, 42kDa and LAM_P, 45kDa), A. flavolineata (LAM_A, 45kDa) and T molitor (LAM_T, 50kDa) were purified until homogeneity. These enzymes have different specificities, action patterns and activesite catalytic groups, and correspond to E.C.s 3.2.1.6 - endo-β-1,3(4)-glucanase (LIQ1), 3.2.1.39 - endo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_P) or 3.2.1.58 -exo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_A and LAM_T). Their physiological role is fungai and cereal β-glucan digestion. LAM_P and LAM_A are inhibited by excess substrate (non-productive enzyme-substrate complexes). LIQ1, LAM_P and LAMA have different multiple attack degrees and produce different oligosaccharides. LAM_A has a second substrate binding site, probably involved with processivity. T. molitor digestive chitinase is different from other insect chitinases. A. flavolineata and T. molitor can hydrolyse cristalline cellulose efficiently. The three studied insects have cellulose or pachyman-binding proteins with low molecular weights. Hexapoda ancestors probably had digestive β-1,3 and β-1,3(4)-glucanases and a detritivore habit

Purification and characterization of β-1,3-glucanases from insects

P. americana e T. molitor são capazes de secretar β-1,3-glucanases no tubo digestivo, pelas glândulas salivares e pelo epitélio do ventrículo, respectivamente. As laminarinases majoritárias de P. americana (LIQ1, 42kDa; LAM_P, 45kDa), A. flavolineata (LAM_A, 45kDa) e T. molitor (LAM_T, 50kDa) foram purificadas até a homogeneidade. Essas enzimas têm diferentes especificidades, padrões de ação e resíduos envolvidos em catálise, fazendo parte dos E.C. 3.2.1.6 - endo-β-1,3(4)-glucanase (LIQ1), E.C. 3.2.1.39 - endo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_P) ou E.C. 3.2.1.58 - exo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_A e LAMT). O papel dessas enzimas é digerir β-glucanas de fungos e de cereais. LAM_P e LAMA são inibidas por laminarina, pela formação de complexos enzima-substrato não-produtivos. LIQ1, LAM_P e LAM_A são enzimas processivas, com diferentes graus de ataque múltiplo e produzem série distintas de oligossacarídeos. LAM_A possui um sítio acessório de ligação para laminarina, o qual pode estar envolvido no mecanismo de processividade. Quitinases digestivas de insetos podem ser diferentes das descritas até o momento. A. flavolineata e T. molitor possuem sistemas celulásicos completos. Os três insetos apresentam proteínas de baixo peso molecular capazes de ligar-se a celulose ou a pachyman. O ancestral dos hexapoda provavelmente possuía β-1,3 e β-1,3(4) glucanases digestivas associadas a um hábito detritívoro.P. americana salivary glands and T. molitor midgut epithelium actively secrete laminarinases into the midgut. The major laminarinases from P. americana (LIQ1, 42kDa and LAM_P, 45kDa), A. flavolineata (LAM_A, 45kDa) and T molitor (LAM_T, 50kDa) were purified until homogeneity. These enzymes have different specificities, action patterns and activesite catalytic groups, and correspond to E.C.s 3.2.1.6 - endo-β-1,3(4)-glucanase (LIQ1), 3.2.1.39 - endo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_P) or 3.2.1.58 -exo-β-1,3-glucanase (LAM_A and LAM_T). Their physiological role is fungai and cereal β-glucan digestion. LAM_P and LAM_A are inhibited by excess substrate (non-productive enzyme-substrate complexes). LIQ1, LAM_P and LAMA have different multiple attack degrees and produce different oligosaccharides. LAM_A has a second substrate binding site, probably involved with processivity. T. molitor digestive chitinase is different from other insect chitinases. A. flavolineata and T. molitor can hydrolyse cristalline cellulose efficiently. The three studied insects have cellulose or pachyman-binding proteins with low molecular weights. Hexapoda ancestors probably had digestive β-1,3 and β-1,3(4)-glucanases and a detritivore habit

Purification and characterization of digestive beta-glucanases from Periplaneta americana (Dictyoptera)

Periplaneta americana apresenta em seu tubo digestivo pelo menos oito atividades β-glucanásicas distintas. Destas, cinco puderam ser purificadas até a homogeneidade e parcialmente caracterizadas. LAM (Mr=46.000) apresenta atividade exclusiva sobre laminarina, é inibida por altas concentrações de substrato e gera oligossacarídeos de baixo grau de polimerização (1 a 4) a partir de laminarina solúvel. LIQl (Mr=24.600) é capaz de hidrolisar laminarina e liquenana, produzindo oligossacarídeos de grau de polimerização 1, 2 e 4 a partir de laminarina solúvel e um único oligossacarídeo (grau de polimerização entre 3 e 4) a partir de liquenana. LIQ 2 (Mr= 22.300) é capaz de clivar laminarina e liquenana e é inibida por laminarina, clivando apenas ligações internas ao polímero. CELl e CEL2 (Mr=71.600 e 72.700) clivam liquenana e carboximetilcelulose, também atacando apenas ligações internas destes polissacarídeos. CELl e CEL2 também são capazes de atacar celulose cristalina. Todas as β-glucanases purificadas apresentam um pH ótimo em torno de 6,0, próximo ao pH luminal, e são relativamente estáveis em condições fisiológicas. Estas enzimas são purificadas a partir da fração solúvel do tubo digestivo do inseto em quantidades muito pequenas (até 7µg), o que inviabiliza sua caracterização estrutural refinada. Além destas proteínas, o sistema β-glucanásico de P. americana conta com duas celulases de baixo peso molecular (Mr= 15.000 e 17.000), e uma atividade ainda não caracterizada. Aparentemente, estas enzimas estão envolvidas na digestão incompleta da celulose e hemiceluloses ingeridas pelo inseto. LIQ 1 possui capacidade lítica sobre células de Saccharomyces cerevisiae, podendo estar envolvida na defesa do epitélio contra agentes infecciosos.P. americana midgut has at least eight β-glucanases. Five were purified and partially characterized. LAM (Mr=46,000) is active only upon soluble laminarin, is inhibited by high amounts of substrate, and releases small oligosaccharides (1 to 4 glucoses). LIQ1 (Mr=24,600) is active upon laminarin and lichenan, releasing oligosaccharides with 1,2 and 4 glucosyl residues from soluble laminarin and only one oligossacharide, with a degree of polimerization between 3 and 4, from lichenan. LIQ2 (Mr=22,300) is active upon laminarin and lichenan and hydrolyzes only internal bond. CEL1 and CEL2 are active upon lichenan and carboxymethylcellulose, hydrolyzing internal bonds in these substrates. CEL1 and CEL2 also attack AVICEL. All β-glucanase activities have an optimum pH around 6.0 (near luminal pH) and are stable under physiological conditions. These enzymes are purified in very low amounts (up to 7µg from 10 animais). P. americana &#946,-glucanasic system also has two cellulases of low molecular weight (Mr= 15,000 and 17,000), and another not yet characterized. Probably these enzymes are involved in incomplete digestion of cellulose and hemicellulose ingested by the insect. LIQ 1 lyses Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, and may be involved in epithelium defense against microorganisms