Triatomine bugs are the blood feeding insect vectors transmitting Chagas disease to humans, a neglected tropical disease that affects over 8 million people, mainly in Latin America. The behavioral responses to host cues and bug signals in Rhodnius prolixus are state dependent, i.e., they vary as a function of post-ecdysis age. At the molecular level, these changes in behavior are probably due to a modulation of peripheral and central processes. In the present study, we report a significant modulation of the expression of a large set of sensory-related genes. Results were generated by means of antennal transcriptomes of 5th instar larvae along the first week (days 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8) after ecdysis sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq platform. Significant age-induced changes in transcript abundance were established for more than 6120 genes (54,7% of 11,186 genes expressed) in the antenna of R. prolixus. This was especially true between the first two days after ecdysis when more than 2500 genes had their expression significantly altered. In contrast, expression profiles were almost identical between day 6 and 8, with only a few genes showing significant modulation of their expression. A total of 86 sensory receptors, odorant carriers and odorant degrading enzymes were significantly modulated across age points and clustered into three distinct expression profiles. The set of sensory genes whose expression increased with age (profile 3) may include candidates underlying the increased responsiveness to host cues shown by R. prolixus during the first days after molting. For the first time, we describe the maturation process undergone at the molecular level by the peripheral sensory system of a hemimetabolous insect.

Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena Germany

Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena Germany; Present address Faculty of Forestry and Wood Science Excellent Team for Mitigation Czech University of Life Science Prague Czech Republic

Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales Instituto de Fisiología Biología Molecular y Neurociencias Universidad de Buenos Aires CONICET Buenos Aires Argentina

Plataforma de Bioinformática Instituto René Rachou FIOCRUZ Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Brazil

Vector Behavior and Pathogen Interaction Group Instituto René Rachou FIOCRUZ Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais Brazil

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