气味结合蛋白OBPs在意大利蜜蜂头部表达模式的研究

昆虫气味结合蛋白(OBPs)是脂溶性化学物质的载体,参与了嗅觉识别和化学传输等生理过程.本研究利用MEME在线软件对意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera ligustica OBPs基因家族21条氨基酸序列进行Motif预测分析;采用RT-PCR初步筛选出在意大利蜜蜂头部表达量较高的OBPs基因,然后利用qPCR技术对筛选出的基因进一步分析其在不同日龄内勤蜂头部的表达情况.结果 表明,在预测获得的6个motif中,motif1为21个OBPs所共有,具有极高的保守性,推测该序列元件可能是意大利蜜蜂OBPs与底物结合的区域;表达谱分析结果表明,13个OBPs基因的凝胶电泳条带明显(即在头部的表达量较高),且大多数基因在4日龄时表达量达到最高值,推测这类蛋白可能参与了幼虫信息素和糖类物质的识别过程.本研究结果丰富了蜜蜂OBPs表达特性的研究数据,同时也为探讨昆虫OBPs广泛的生理功能奠定了基础.

Expression profiles of odorant binding proteins in head of the Western honeybee,Apis mellifera ligustica

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are chemical compound carriers, involving in diverse physiological processes including olfactory detection and chemical transportation. In this study, the Motif structure of 21 OBPs in Apis mellifera ligustica were predicted by the online software MEME. RT-PCR was used to detect the OBPs with high expression levels in the head of bees preliminarily, which were then further analyzed for their expression profiles in the head of nurse bees from different days by qPCR. The results showed that among the predicted six motifs, motif 1 was shared by 21 OBP genes, which was a highly conservative region. It was speculated that the motif might be the binding region between OBPs and their ligands. Expression profile analysis showed that 13 OBPs had obvious gel electrophoresis bands, that was these genes expressed relatively high in head of the A. c. ligustica, and most of them reached their highest level at 4 days old, which was speculated that these proteins may be involved in the recognition process of larval pheromone and carbohydrate. The results of this study enrich the expression information of honeybee OBPs, and lay a foundation for exploring the broad physiological functions of insect OBPs.