Juvenile hormone acid methyl transferase is a key regulatory enzyme for juvenile hormone synthesis in the Eri silkworm, Samia cynthica ricini |
| |
Authors: | Sheng Zhentao Ma Li Cao Mei-Xun Jiang Rong-Jing Li Sheng |
| |
Institution: | Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. |
| |
Abstract: | During the period of adult emergence in the Eri silkworm, Samia cynthia ricini, the corpora allata (CA) are apparently reactivated in females, but not males. This creates a significant sexual dimorphism in juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis by CA. To determine the underlying molecular mechanisms in this process, we cloned cDNAs of two enzymes involved in the JH synthesis pathway: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGR) and juvenile hormone acid methyl transferase (JHAMT). Both Samcri-HMGR and -JHAMT mRNAs were detected in CA almost exclusively. However, their expression patterns were different from each other. During the period of adult emergence, Samcri-HMGR was expressed in CA at a constantly high level suggesting it plays little role for the regulation of JH synthesis. In contrast, the patterns of both Samcri-JHAMT mRNA level and enzyme activity were closely correlated with the patterns of JH synthesis, CA reactivation, and sexual dimorphism of JH synthesis. In addition, JHAMT mRNA levels were paralleled JH synthesis in the fifth-instar larvae of S. cynthia ricini and the pharate adults of the silkworm Bombyx mori. We infer from these results that JHAMT is a key regulatory enzyme for JH synthesis in the Eri silkworm. |
| |
Keywords: | Samia cynthia ricini Bombyx mori juvenile hormone juvenile hormone acid methyl transferase 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl CoA reductase |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|