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Phlebotomine sand flies are of global significance as important vectors of human disease, transmitting bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, including the kinetoplastid parasites of the genus Leishmania, the causative agents of devastating diseases collectively termed leishmaniasis. More than 40 pathogenic Leishmania species are transmitted to humans by approximately 35 sand fly species in 98 countries with hundreds of millions of people at risk around the world. No approved efficacious vaccine exists for leishmaniasis and available therapeutic drugs are either toxic and/or expensive, or the parasites are becoming resistant to the more recently developed drugs. Therefore, sand fly and/or reservoir control are currently the most effective strategies to break transmission. To better understand the biology of sand flies, including the mechanisms involved in their vectorial capacity, insecticide resistance, and population structures we sequenced the genomes of two geographically widespread and important sand fly vector species: Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, (distributed in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (distributed across Central and South America). We categorized and curated genes involved in processes important to their roles as disease vectors, including chemosensation, blood feeding, circadian rhythm, immunity, and detoxification, as well as mobile genetic elements. We also defined gene orthology and observed micro-synteny among the genomes. Finally, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of these species in their respective geographical areas. These genomes will be a foundation on which to base future efforts to prevent vector-borne transmission of Leishmania parasites., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

The mosquito midgut is an important site for bloodmeal regulation while also acting as a primary site for pathogen exposure within the mosquito. Recent studies show that exposure to dehydrating conditions alters mosquito bloodfeeding behaviors as well as post-feeding regulation, likely altering how pathogens interact with the mosquito. Unfortunately, few studies have explored the underlying dynamics between dehydration and bloodmeal utilization, and the overall impact on disease transmission dynamics remains veiled. In this study, we find that dehydration-based feeding in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti , prompts alterations to midgut gene expression, as well as subsequent physiological factors involving water control and post-bloodfeeding (pbf) regulation. Altered expression of ion transporter genes and aquaporin 2 (AQP2) in the midgut of dehydrated mosquitoes as well as the rapid reequilibration of hemolymph osmolality after a bloodmeal indicate an ability to expedite fluid and ion processing. These alterations ultimately indicate that female A. aegypti employ mechanisms to ameliorate the detriments of dehydration by imbibing a bloodmeal, providing an effective avenue for rehydration. Continued research into bloodmeal utilization and the resulting effects on arthropod-borne transmission dynamics becomes increasingly important as drought prevalence is increased by climate change.

Preeclampsia is a serious condition responsible for much pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis of preeclampsia is difficult due to the non-specific and subjective nature of symptoms of the disease. To reduce the subjective decision making and management of preeclampsia, we identified a panel of biomarkers representing multiple and different pathogenic pathways implicated in the etiology of preeclampsia, and developed a test referred to as Preecludia™. An algorithm based on eight biomarkers (cluster of differentiation 274 (CD274), decorin, endoglin, fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21), soluble fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), free placental growth factor (PlGF), and total PlGF) and gestational age at the time of sample collection was constructed to rule out preeclampsia in women presenting with signs and symptoms of preeclampsia. The analytical performance of each of the individual biomarker assays that comprise the Preecludia™ test was evaluated. Herein we report the test's precision, analytical range, analytical sensitivity, parallelism, linearity, interference, analytical specificity, analytical accuracy, and stability. The data indicate that these biomarker assays exhibit a high level of inter-run precision of less than 15%, with minimal interference., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Viviparous reproduction is characterized by maternal retention of developing offspring within the reproductive tract during gestation, culminating in live birth. In some cases, a mother will provide nutrition beyond that present in the yolk; this is known as matrotrophic viviparity. While this phenomenon is best associated with mammals, it is observed in insects such as the viviparous cockroach, Diploptera punctata. Female D. punctata carry developing embryos in the brood sac, a reproductive organ that acts as both a uterus and a placenta by protecting and providing a nutritive secretion to the intrauterine developing progeny. While the basic physiology of D. punctata pregnancy has been characterized, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. This study combined RNA-seq analysis, RNA interference, and other assays to characterize molecular and physiological changes associated with D. punctata reproduction. A comparison of four stages of the female reproductive cycle and males revealed unique gene expression profiles corresponding to each stage and between sexes. Differentially regulated transcripts of interest include the previously identified family of milk proteins and transcripts associated with juvenile hormone metabolism. RNA interference and methoprene application experiments established the potential impacts of bothbreakdown and synthesis reduction of juvenile hormone in maintaining pregnancy in D. punctata. These studies provide the comprehensive molecular mechanisms associated with cockroach viviparity, which will be a critical resource for comparative purposes among viviparity in insect systems., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Current insights into the mosquito dehydration response rely on studies that examine specific responses but ultimately fail to provide an encompassing view of mosquito biology. Here, we examined underlying changes in the biology of mosquitoes associated with dehydration. Specifically, we show that dehydration increases blood feeding in the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, which was the result of both higher activity and a greater tendency to land on a host. Similar observations were noted for Aedes aegypti and Anopheles quadrimaculatus. RNA-seq and metabolome analyses in C. pipiens following dehydration revealed that factors associated with carbohydrate metabolism are altered, specifically the breakdown of trehalose. Suppression of trehalose breakdown in C. pipiens by RNA interference reduced phenotypes associated with lower hydration levels. Lastly, mesocosm studies for C. pipiens confirmed that dehydrated mosquitoes were more likely to host feed under ecologically relevant conditions. Disease modeling indicates dehydration bouts will likely enhance viral transmission. This dehydration-induced increase in blood feeding is therefore likely to occur regularly and intensify during periods when availability of water is low.

DNA repair enzymes recognize and remove damaged bases that are embedded in the duplex. To gain access, most enzymes use nucleotide flipping, whereby the target nucleotide is rotated 180° into the active site. In human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG), the enzyme that initiates base excision repair of alkylated bases, the flipped-out nucleotide is stabilized by intercalation of the side chain of tyrosine 162 that replaces the lesion nucleobase. Previous kinetic studies provided evidence for the formation of a transient complex that precedes the stable flipped-out complex, but it is not clear how this complex differs from nonspecific complexes. We used site-directed mutagenesis and transient-kinetic approaches to investigate the timing of Tyr 162 intercalation for AAG. The tryptophan substitution (Y162W) appeared to be conservative, because the mutant protein retained a highly favorable equilibrium constant for flipping the 1, N 6 -ethenoadenine (ϵA) lesion, and the rate of N -glycosidic bond cleavage was identical to that of the wild-type enzyme. We assigned the tryptophan fluorescence signal from Y162W by removing two native tryptophan residues (W270A/W284A). Stopped-flow experiments then demonstrated that the change in tryptophan fluorescence of the Y162W mutant is extremely rapid upon binding to either damaged or undamaged DNA, much faster than the lesion-recognition and nucleotide flipping steps that were independently determined by monitoring the ϵA fluorescence. These observations suggest that intercalation by this aromatic residue is one of the earliest steps in the search for DNA damage and that this interaction is important for the progression of AAG from nonspecific searching to specific-recognition complexes., (© 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Enzymes that modify nucleobases in double-stranded genomic DNA, either as part of a DNA repair pathway or as an epigenetic modifying pathway, adopt a multistep pathway to locate target sites and reconfigure the DNA to gain access. Work on several different enzymes has shown that in almost all cases base flipping, also known as nucleotide flipping, is a key feature of specific site recognition. In this chapter, we discuss some of the strategies that can be used to perform a kinetic characterization for DNA binding and nucleotide flipping. The resulting kinetic and thermodynamic framework provides a platform for understanding substrate specificity, mechanisms of inhibition, and the roles of important amino acids. We use a human DNA repair glycosylase called alkyladenine DNA glycosylase as a case study, because this is one of the best-characterized nucleotide-flipping enzymes. However, the approaches that are described can be readily adapted to study other enzymes, and future studies are needed to understand the mechanism of substrate recognition in each individual case. As more enzymes are characterized, we can hope to uncover which features of DNA searching and nucleotide flipping are fundamental features shared by many different families of DNA modifying enzymes, and which features are specific to a particular enzyme. Such an understanding provides reasonable models for less characterized enzymes that are important for epigenetic DNA modification and DNA repair pathways., (© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius, has re-established itself as a ubiquitous human ectoparasite throughout much of the world during the past two decades. This global resurgence is likely linked to increased international travel and commerce in addition to widespread insecticide resistance. Analyses of the C. lectularius sequenced genome (650 Mb) and 14,220 predicted protein-coding genes provide a comprehensive representation of genes that are linked to traumatic insemination, a reduced chemosensory repertoire of genes related to obligate hematophagy, host-symbiont interactions, and several mechanisms of insecticide resistance. In addition, we document the presence of multiple putative lateral gene transfer events. Genome sequencing and annotation establish a solid foundation for future research on mechanisms of insecticide resistance, human-bed bug and symbiont-bed bug associations, and unique features of bed bug biology that contribute to the unprecedented success of C. lectularius as a human ectoparasite.

Nucleotide flipping is a common feature of DNA-modifying enzymes that allows access to target sites within duplex DNA. Structural studies have identified many intercalating amino acid side chains in a wide variety of enzymes, but the functional contribution of these intercalating residues is poorly understood. We used site-directed mutagenesis and transient kinetic approaches to dissect the energetic contribution of intercalation for human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase, an enzyme that initiates repair of alkylation damage. When AAG flips out a damaged nucleotide, the void in the duplex is filled by a conserved tyrosine (Y162). We find that tyrosine intercalation confers 140-fold stabilization of the extrahelical specific recognition complex, and that Y162 functions as a plug to slow the rate of unflipping by 6000-fold relative to the Y162A mutant. Surprisingly, mutation to the smaller alanine side chain increases the rate of nucleotide flipping by 50-fold relative to the wild-type enzyme. This provides evidence against the popular model that DNA intercalation accelerates nucleotide flipping. In the case of AAG, DNA intercalation contributes to the specific binding of a damaged nucleotide, but this enhanced specificity comes at the cost of reduced speed of nucleotide flipping., (© The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

β-Lactams are the most widely prescribed class of antibiotics, yet their efficacy is threatened by expression of β-lactamase enzymes, which hydrolyze the defining lactam ring of these antibiotics. To overcome resistance due to β-lactamases, inhibitors that do not resemble β-lactams are needed. A novel, non-β-lactam inhibitor for the class C β-lactamase AmpC (3-[(4-chloroanilino)sulfonyl]thiophene-2-carboxylic acid; Ki 26μM) was previously identified. Based on this lead, a series of compounds with the potential to interact with residues at the edge of the active site were synthesized and tested for inhibition of AmpC. The length of the carbon chain spacer was extended by 1, 2, 3, and 4 carbons between the integral thiophene ring and the benzene ring (compounds 4, 5, 6, and 7). Compounds 4 and 6 showed minimal improvement over the lead compound (Ki 18 and 19μM, respectively), and compound 5 inhibited to the same extent as the lead. The X-ray crystal structures of AmpC in complexes with compounds 4, 5, and 6 were determined. The complexes provide insight into the structural reasons for the observed inhibition, and inform future optimization efforts in this series., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Homoisocitrate dehydrogenase (HICDH) catalyzes the conversion of homoisocitrate to 2-oxoadipate, the third enzymatic step in the α-aminoadipate pathway by which lysine is synthesized in fungi and certain archaebacteria. This enzyme represents a potential target for anti-fungal drug design. Here, we describe the first crystal structures of a fungal HICDH, including structures of an apoenzyme and a binary complex with a glycine tri-peptide. The structures illustrate the homology of HICDH with other β-hydroxyacid oxidative decarboxylases and reveal key differences with the active site of Thermus thermophilus HICDH that provide insights into the differences in substrate specificity of these enzymes.

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) locates and excises a wide variety of structurally diverse alkylated and oxidized purine lesions from DNA to initiate the base excision repair pathway. Recognition of a base lesion requires flipping of the damaged nucleotide into a relatively open active site pocket between two conserved tyrosine residues, Y127 and Y159. We have mutated each of these amino acids to tryptophan and measured the kinetic effects on the nucleotide flipping and base excision steps. The Y127W and Y159W mutant proteins have robust glycosylase activity toward DNA containing 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine (εA), within 4-fold of that of the wild-type enzyme, raising the possibility that tryptophan fluorescence could be used to probe the DNA binding and nucleotide flipping steps. Stopped-flow fluorescence was used to compare the time-dependent changes in tryptophan fluorescence and εA fluorescence. For both mutants, the tryptophan fluorescence exhibited two-step binding with essentially identical rate constants as were observed for the εA fluorescence changes. These results provide evidence that AAG forms an initial recognition complex in which the active site pocket is perturbed and the stacking of the damaged base is disrupted. Upon complete nucleotide flipping, there is further quenching of the tryptophan fluorescence with coincident quenching of the εA fluorescence. Although these mutations do not have large effects on the rate constant for excision of εA, there are dramatic effects on the rate constants for nucleotide flipping that result in 40-100-fold decreases in the flipping equilibrium relative to wild-type. Most of this effect is due to an increased rate of unflipping, but surprisingly the Y159W mutation causes a 5-fold increase in the rate constant for flipping. The large effect on the equilibrium for nucleotide flipping explains the greater deleterious effects that these mutations have on the glycosylase activity toward base lesions that are in more stable base pairs.