Temporal patterns of protein synthesis inManduca epidermis during the change to pupal commitment in vitro: their modulation by 20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone

Summary The epidermis of final instar tobacco hornworm larvae,Manduca sexta, becomes committed to pupal differentiation in response to ecdysteroid in the absence of juvenile hormone (JH). Many changes in protein synthetic patterns have been noted during this time (Kiely and Riddiford 1985). To determine which of these changes are caused by ecdysteroid and which are important for the change of commitment, we have incubated larvally-committed epidermis for 24 h with 1 g/ml 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE) and 3 g/ml epoxygeranylsesamole (EGS) (a JH mimic), with 3 g/ml EGS alone, or in hormone-free medium. Synthesis of larval-specific proteins such as insecticyanin and larval cuticular proteins was reduced to trace amounts or was undetectable after culture with 20HE for 24 h. The larval cuticular proteins that are greatly increasedin vivo on day 3 were not synthesized after exposure to 20HEin vitro. Ecdysteroid increased the synthesis of many of the proteins first seenin vivo on day 3 or during the wandering stage. The synthesis of about half of these latter proteins was inhibited by JH, indicating that they were likely part of the change of commitment. Other proteins that appear at this stagein vivo showed increased synthesis also in hormone-free medium and therefore were independent of the change of commitment.