miRNAs in Resistant and Susceptible Strains in Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius)

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are hematophagous nocturnal parasites of humans that have attained high impact status due to their worldwide resurgence. The sudden and rampant resurgence of C. lectularius has been attributed to numerous factors including frequent international travel, narrower pest management practices, and insecticide resistance. The development of insecticide resistance within the bed bug could be attributed toward several modes including target sensitivity, penetration resistance, behavioral resistance, and metabolic resistance. Although there has been a recent burst of knowledge a the transcriptomics level on characterizing the insecticide resistance phenotype in bed bugs, the role of key players of gene regulation such as microRNAs (miRNAs) at the tissue-level is still null. miRNAs are small non-coding RNA of 21 to 25 nucleotides, that are important during development, reproduction, stress response, and in other molecular mechanisms and cellular processes stages. miRNAs regulate gene expression by targeting 3’ UTR region of specific mRNAs , when the sequence is perfect complementarity with the target. If complementarity is not perfect, miRNAs can also down-regulate gene expression by a rapid deadenylation  of mRNAs. This  research focuses on the identification and functional characterization of candidate miRNAs and their regulation of target mRNAs in a tissue-specific manner in both resistant and susceptible bed bug populations.