Studies on arthropods of medical and veterinary importance

• Grant number: 98/11372-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: May 01, 1999
• End date: April 30, 2004
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Gildo de Bianchi
• Grantee: Antonio Gildo de Bianchi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Osvaldo Marinotti ; Sirlei Daffre

Abstract

Studies on arthropods of medical and veterinary importance are necessary and may be useful for the development of new strategies for the control of their populations and the diseases caused by them. The general objectives of the presented project are: 1. cioning and characterization of the hexamerin genes of Musca domestica. The regulatory sequences of the larval and adult expressed hexamerin genes will be sequenced and compared; 2. characterization of genes expressed in the salivary glands of the mosquitoes Anopheles dalingi and Culex quinquefasciatus. The proteins encoded by the cloned cDNAs and genes will be analyzed; 3. determination of the amino acid sequences of the peptides AGP and AGHI isolated from A. gomesiana. Synthesis and cloning of these peptides and studies on their antimicrobial activity; 4. purification, sequencing and synthesis of the peptide generated by hemoglobin hydrolysis in the gut of B. microplus, which presents antibacterial activity; 5. purification of antibacterial peptides in Boophilus microplus hemolymph. Characterization of the pure peptides by mass spectrometry and aminoacid sequencing; 6. purification and characterization of the coagulogen which participates of the A. gomesiana coagulation; 7. quantification of reactive oxygen species by the B. microplus hemocytes. Studies on the effects of temperature, pH, number of cells, divalent salts, and stimulatory agents (PMA, bacteria, etc). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FOGAÇA‚ A.C.; ALMEIDA‚ I.C.; EBERLIN‚ M.N.; TANAKA‚ A.S.; BULET‚ P.; DAFFRE‚ S.. Ixodidin‚ a novel antimicrobial peptide from the hemocytes of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus with inhibitory activity against serine proteinases. Peptides, v. 27, n. 4, p. 667-674, 2006. (98/11372-4)

Filed patent(s) as a result of this research project