Identification, characterization and expression of a receptor for the unusual mysosuppressin in the blood-feeding bug Rhodnius prolixus

Oh my, my oh, oh my, I feel my-oh-suppressed. Or I might feel that way if I had the same myosuppressin just discovered in the kissing bug. Former PhD student DoHee Lee and former NSERC USRA Tyler James (Lange Lab) recently published “Identification, characterization and expression of a receptor for the unusual mysosuppressin in the blood-feeding bug Rhodnius prolixus” in Insect Molecular Biology. Do Hee and Tyler recently characterized the gene for the receptor of an unusual peptide in Rhodnius prolixus. This myosuppressin is unusual in that it has a different amino acid sequence to other myosuppressins and yet it still retains the important functional characteristic of being able to inhibit muscle contraction.  Quantitative PCR to measure the expression of its transcript suggests that this signalling pathway is important for communication within the central nervous system and also in controlling muscle contraction of the digestive system.

Congratulations on another important contribution to understanding the molecular physiology of insects!