FMRFamide-like peptides and their role in reproduction in the Chagas vector, Rhodnius prolixus
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Insect reproductive systems are tightly modulated by neurotransmitters via direct innervation, by neurohormones circulating in the haemolymph and by neuromodulators that can be released either locally or more widespread in the periphery. FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs) are large families of neuropeptides with conserved RFamide C-termini and have been implicated in vertebrate and invertebrate neuroendocrinology. This thesis examines the differing roles that members of the FLP superfamily have in the adult female reproductive system of Rhodnius prolixus. The entire female reproductive tract is composed of different arrangements of striated muscles. Two members of the N-terminally extended FM/L/IRFamides have been shown to stimulate ovariole, ovary, oviduct and bursal muscle contraction in a dose-dependent manner; whereas the myosuppressin, RhoprMS, does not have any myogenic effect on the reproductive tract. The RhoprNPF (neuropeptide F) and RhoprNPF receptor (RhoprNPFR) genes have been cloned from the R. prolixus central nervous system (CNS) and phylogenetic analysis implies possible receptor-ligand co-evolution. RhoprNPFR has been classified as a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) containing 7 transmembrane domains and a conserved 8th Îą-helix that are classic characteristics of rhodopsin-type GPCRs. FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was observed in cells and processes in the adult CNS and processes on the reproductive tract. Moreover a specific subset of median neurosecretory cells (MNSCs) in the brain as well as small cell bodies along the muscle fibers of the lateral oviduct express the RhoprNPF transcript. The RhoprNPFR transcript is also expressed in putative pre-follicular cells of the R. prolixus telotrophic ovariole. RhoprNPFR transcript appears to be supplied to the developing oocyte during vitellogenesis and the receptor most likely aids in the differentiation of pre-follicular cells into mature follicle cells surrounding the growing oocyte and helps regulate the supply of nutrients. Screening members of the FLP family in an egg-laying assay showed that N-terminally extended FM/L/IRFamides and short NPF stimulate oogenesis, whereas MS inhibits it. Although RhoprNPF does not have a myogenic effect on lateral oviduct muscle, I have shown that it potentially aids in ovulation. Sulfakinins exhibit no effect on egg-laying. In summary, this thesis demonstrates the importance of FLPs in the control and regulation of the female R. prolixus reproductive system.
Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.
How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".