Expression profile analysis of microRNAs during different development stages of the New World Screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

• Grant number: 14/15042-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: October 27, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Ana Maria Lima de Azeredo-Espin
• Grantee: Daniel Fernando Paulo
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/05432-7 - Development of an Odorant Co-­receptor Mutant Strain of the New World Screwworm Fly using the CRISPR/Cas9 system: A Functional Investigation on the Evolution of Olfactory Perception in Blowflies., BE.EP.DR

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that act in the post transcriptional modulation of the genetic expression. In animals, the incomplete base complementarity between the miRNA and the target site of the messenger RNA inhibit their translation, thus making them key genes for expression control. The analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs can provide a better understanding of a variety of biological processes that occur over development stages of a species, as well its evolution of morphological and physiological characteristics. The family Calliphoridae consists in a group of holometobolous muscoid dipterans of medical and veterinary importance. Among the species of this family, the New World Screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax is one of the mainly livestock pest in the Neotropical region. At the larvae phase this species infest and feed on live tissues of warm-blooded vertebrates, resulting in severe livestock industry losses. Despite its medical and economic impact little is known about the genetic regulation associate with the feeding and breeding habits of this species. This project aims to evaluate the miRNAs expression profile during different development stages of C. hominivorax, through new generation sequencing of small-RNA transcriptomes of egg, larvae, pupa and adults development phases. The differentially expressed miRNAs will be used for target prediction in gene regulatory pathways associate with this species feed and breed. The results achieved here will contribute for a better understanding of parasitism habits of C. hominivorax, with perspectives for functional, comparative and evolutionary studies in Calliphoridae.

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)

PAULO, DANIEL F.; JUNQUEIRA, ANA C. M.; ARP, ALEX P.; VIEIRA, ANDRE S.; CEBALLOS, JORGE; SKODA, STEVEN R.; PEREZ-DE-LEON, ADALBERTO A.; SAGEL, AGUSTIN; MCMILLAN, WILLIAM O.; SCOTT, MAXWELL J.; et al. Disruption of the odorant coreceptor Orco impairs foraging and host finding behaviors in the New World screwworm fly. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1, MAY 31 2021. (14/15042-3, 15/02079-9, 17/05432-7)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PAULO, Daniel Fernando. De genes à fenótipos: um estudo de genômica funcional na Mosca-da-bicheira, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae). 2019. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia Campinas, SP.