Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2017) 31, 97-101

J.C. Vidal-Quist, F. Ortego, B.N. Lambrecht, P. Castañera and P. Hernández-Crespo (2017)
Effects of domestic chemical stressors on expression of allergen genes in the European house dust mite
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 31 (1), 97-101
Abstract: The expression of allergen genes in house dust mites is influenced by temperature and relative humidity, but little is known of the impacts of other environmental factors that may alter the repertoire of allergens released by mites in home microhabitats. Bioassays were conducted in concave microscope slides in combination with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to analyse gene expression of 17 allergens of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Acariformes: Pyroglyphidae) exposed to three chemical stressors that can be present in domestic environments. Short-term exposure (5–12 days) to diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) (1 µg/cm²), bacterial lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (0.1 µg/cm²) and benzyl benzoate (3.2 µg/cm²), at concentrations exceeding those expected in homes, had no significant effect on allergen transcription. A significant increase in the transcription of allergens Der p 3, Der p 8 and Der p 21 was observed only after exposing mites to a higher concentration of DEPs (10 µg/cm²) over a whole generation. In combination, the present results suggest that the analysed factors have low impact on allergen production. The methodology described here offers a sound and rapid approach to the broad-spectrum study of factors affecting allergen-related mite physiology, and allows the simultaneous screening of different factors in a relatively short period with consideration of the full spectrum of allergen genes.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Félix Ortego, Pedro Castañera

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus