Studies on molecular mechanisms underlying sex pheromone production in moths

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The neurohormone PBAN (pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide) regulates pheromone (bombykol) biosynthesis in the silkmoth, Bombyx marl, by binding to its cognate PBAN receptor, which is located in the pheromone gland (PG) cells of female moths. While extracellular Ca^<2+> had been shown to be essential for sex pheromone biosynthesis in all species studied to date, there had been no direct demonstration of this crucial event. To address this, we used fluorescent Ca^<2+> imaging techniques with isolated PGs to directly demonstrate that PBAN specifically triggers an influx of extracellular Ca^<2+>. Despite the efforts of numerous groups to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying bombykol production, little is known regarding how the external PBAN signal is converted to the calcium signal that drives bombykol production and release. To address this issue, we have taken advantage of the genome information in B. mori and characterized PG-specific genes[i.e. PG fatty acyl reductase (pgFAR), B. mori PG Z11/Δ10, 12 desaturase (Bmpgdesatl), PG acyl-CoA-binding protein (pgilCB1), midgut ACBP (mgACBI), and PBAN receptor (PBANR)] and successfully demonstrated their specific roles in bombykol biosynthesis in vivo by using an RNA interference-mediated loss-of-function approach.