Wednesday, February 3, 2016
International Genome Research Partnership Uncovers Bed Bug Resistance to Pesticides (Sloan Foundation)
The very thought of them makes a person shudder – and scratch. Those bloodsucking bed bugs are endemic in every major city, and they’re very hard to get rid of. A massive international research partnership – including the University of Cincinnati – has sequenced the entire genome of the common bed bug, uncovering several traits that also could reveal why they’re so resistant to pesticides. The article is one of two papers sequencing the bed bug gene that is published this month in the journal, Nature Communications.
The intensive analysis of the common bed bug (C. lectularius) sequenced genome (650 Mb) and 14,220 predicted protein-coding genes. The investigation provides a comprehensive representation of genes linked to the bed bugs’ mating traits (traumatic insemination). The examination also reveals a reduced chemosensory repertoire of genes related to making them the little blood suckers that they are, as well as several qualities that can make them resistant to pesticides. “We provide the first full panel of all the potential genes that are likely involved with pesticide resistance,” says lead author Joshua Benoit, a UC assistant professor of biological sciences. . .