Abstract
Four antennae-specific proteins (AaegOBP1, AaegOBP2, AaegOBP3, and AaegASP1) were isolated from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti and their full-length cDNAs were cloned. RT-PCR indicated that they are expressed in female and, to a lesser extent, in male antennae, but not in control tissues (legs). AaegOBP1 and AaegOBP3 showed significant similarity to previously identified mosquito odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in cysteine spacing pattern and sequence. Two of the isolated proteins have a total of eight cysteine residues. The similarity of the spacing pattern of the cysteine residues and amino acid sequence to those of previously identified olfactory proteins suggests that one of the cysteine-rich proteins (AaegOBP2) is an OBP. The other (AaegASP1) did not belong to any group of known OBPs. Structural analyses indicate that six of the cysteine residues in AaegOBP2 are linked in a similar pattern to the previously known cysteine pairing in OBPs, i.e., Cys-24–Cys-55, Cys-51–Cys-104, Cys-95–Cys-113. The additional disulfide bridge, Cys-38–Cys-125, knits the extended C-terminal segment of the protein to a predicted α2-helix. As indicated by circular dichroism (CD) spectra, the extra rigidity seems to prevent the predicted formation of a C-terminal α-helix at low pH.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Vicky P. Chiang and Melissa L. Erickson for their assistance with protein extractions and gel electrophoresis; Joe Wagman, Jacquiline Rockwell, Jacquelin Glass (WRAIR) and Julie A. Christiansen (MCRL) for the maintenance of mosquito colonies and antennae collection. This work was supported by funds from the NIH-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (1U01AI058267-01), the National Science Foundation (NSF) (0234769), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Initiative Competitive Grants Program (2003-35302), USDA-ARS Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory (58-1275-1-042) and the University of California Statewide Mosquito Research Fund.
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Ishida, Y., Chen, A.M., Tsuruda, J.M. et al. Intriguing olfactory proteins from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Naturwissenschaften 91, 426–431 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0551-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0551-7