Intestinal proteases of free-living and parasitic astigmatid mites

Deborah C. Holt, Stewart T G Burgess, Simone L. Reynolds, Wajahat Mahmood, Katja Fischer

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    17 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Among arthropod pests, mites are responsible for considerable damage to crops, humans and other animals. However, detailed physiological data on these organisms remain sparse, mainly because of their small size but possibly also because of their extreme diversity. Focusing on intestinal proteases, we draw together information from three distinct mite species that all feed on skin but have separately adapted to a free-living, a strictly ecto-parasitic and a parasitic lifestyle. A wide range of studies involving immunohistology, molecular biology, X-ray crystallography and enzyme biochemistry of mite gut proteases suggests that these creatures have diverged considerably as house dust mites, sheep scab mites and scabies mites. Each species has evolved a particular variation of a presumably ancestral repertoire of digestive enzymes that have become specifically adapted to their individual environmental requirements. 

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)339-352
    Number of pages14
    JournalCell and Tissue Research
    Volume351
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

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