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Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Poster

MUVE: Vector Ecology

D3338: Datamining, prediction and validation of putative antimicrobial peptides from the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius

Wednesday, November 16, 2022
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT
Location: West Exhibit Hall A
In-Person Poster

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Vincent Peta

    Post Doctoral Research Fellow
    University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine Basic Biomedical Sciences
    Vermillion, South Dakota

    • Co-Author(s)

  • MH

    Makenzie D. Hofer

    University of South Dakota
    Vermillion, South Dakota

  • Jose Pietri

    Assistant Professor
    University of South Dakota
    Vermillion, South Dakota

  • EG

    Etienne Gnimpieba

    Assistant Professor
    University of South Dakota Biomedical Engineering Department
    Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are blood-feeding ectoparasites that feed on humans. Even though this relationship offers an efficient way of introducing infectious agents to humans, bed bugs are not known to be vectors of infectious diseases. The bed bug immune system has been characterized only to a limited degree and there are still undiscovered pieces that could yield answers as to why bed bugs are poor disease vectors. One possible factor involved is the production of unknown antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that limit pathogen proliferation. In addition, insects are now seen as a viable way of sourcing AMPs and other bioactive compounds to combat the threat of antibiotic resistant microorganisms and for other uses in medicine. The goal of this work was to data-mine the bed bug proteome for uncharacterized putative AMPs utilizing computational prediction followed by wet-lab methods to confirm function. We will present data on newly identified putative AMPs from bed bugs and their spectra of function. This information has potential uses against microbial pathogens and aids in further understanding the complexities of the bed bug immune system.