昆虫几丁质酶基因的分子特性概述

昆虫几丁质酶是分解昆虫体壁和中肠围食膜几丁质的重要酶类。已从烟草天蛾、家蚕等多种昆虫中分离到几丁质酶的cDNA和DNA序列。昆虫几丁质酶基因有着相似的分子特性,这些特性可为构建杀虫工程菌及转几丁质酶基因植物奠定基础。作者结合自己在该领域的工作,着重就昆虫几丁质酶基因结构特点,基因的拷贝数,基因在体内的时空表达以及异源表达及活性测定等多个方面的研究方法和研究进展进行了较为全面地介绍。

Molecular characteristics of insect chitinase gene

Insect ehitinases are a group of important chitinolytic enzymes, which hydrolyse the cuticle and peritrophic membranes of insects. The eDNA and DNA sequences of insect chitinases have been cloned from tobacco homworm Manduca sexta, silkworm Bomyx mori, and other insects. All these cDNA and DNA sequences show similar molecular characteristics. A detailed understanding of these chitinase genes is necessary for the construction of chitinase-based microbial entomopathogenic and transgenic plants. In this paper, the properties of the genomic organization, the copy number, the different developmental stages and tissue-specific expression, the heterologous expression, and the activity determination of insect chitinases are all reviewed.