| Title: | "Cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding a pheromone gland-specific acyl-CoA Delta11-desaturase of the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni" |
| Author(s): | Knipple DC; Rosenfield CL; Miller SJ; Liu W; Tang J; Ma PW; Roelofs WL; |
| Address: | "Department of Entomology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0027-8424 (Print) 1091-6490 (Electronic) 0027-8424 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Desaturation of coenzyme-A esters of saturated fatty acids is a common feature of sex pheromone biosynthetic pathways in the Lepidoptera. The enzymes that catalyze this step share several biochemical properties with the ubiquitous acyl-CoA Delta9-desaturases of animals and fungi, suggesting a common ancestral origin. Unlike metabolic acyl-CoA Delta9-desaturases, pheromone desaturases have evolved unusual regio- and stereoselective activities that contribute to the remarkable diversity of chemical structures used as pheromones in this large taxonomic group. In this report, we describe the isolation of a cDNA encoding a pheromone gland desaturase from the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni, a species in which all unsaturated pheromone products are produced via a Delta11Z-desaturation mechanism. The largest ORF of the approximately 1,250-bp cDNA encodes a 349-aa apoprotein (PDesat-Tn Delta11Z) with a predicted molecular mass of 40,240 Da. Its hydrophobicity profile is similar overall to those of rat and yeast Delta9-desaturases, suggesting conserved transmembrane topology. A 182-aa core domain delimited by conserved histidine-rich motifs implicated in iron-binding and catalysis has 72 and 58% similarity (including conservative substitutions) to acyl-CoA Delta9Z-desaturases of rat and yeast, respectively. Northern blot analysis revealed an approximately 1,250-nt PDesat-Tn Delta11Z mRNA that is consistent with the spatial and temporal distribution of Delta11-desaturase enzyme activity. Genetic transformation of a desaturase-deficient strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an expression plasmid encoding PDesat-Tn Delta11Z resulted in complementation of the strain's fatty acid auxotrophy and the production of Delta11Z-unsaturated fatty acids" |
| Keywords: | "Amino Acid Sequence Animals Cloning, Molecular Conserved Sequence DNA, Complementary Endocrine Glands/enzymology Fatty Acid Desaturases/biosynthesis/chemistry/*genetics Genes, Insect Molecular Sequence Data Molecular Weight Moths/*enzymology/genetics Open;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKnipple, D C Rosenfield, C L Miller, S J Liu, W Tang, J Ma, P W Roelofs, W L eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 1998/12/23 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Dec 22; 95(26):15287-92. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.26.15287" |
