Yellow-e Determines the Color Pattern of Larval Head and Tail Spots of the Silkworm Bombyx mori
Yellow-e Determines the Color Pattern of Larval Head and Tail Spots of the Silkworm Bombyx mori
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DOI：
10.1074/jbc.m109.035741
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发表时间：
2010-02-19
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
Shimada, Toru
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ito, Katsuhiko;Katsuma, Susumu;Shimada, Toru
黄色蛋白质在昆虫中形成一个大家族。在果蝇的基因组中，有 14 个黄色基因。先前的研究表明，黄色基因对于正常色素沉着是必需的；然而，其他黄色基因在体色中的作用尚不清楚。在这里，我们提供了第一个证据，证明黄色-e是昆虫幼虫正常体色模式所必需的。在家蚕的两个突变品系 bts 及其等位基因 bts2 中，幼虫头部角质层和肛板呈红棕色，而不是野生型中的白色。定位克隆表明，果蝇 Yellow-e 基因 (Bmyellow-e) 的家蚕同源物中的缺失导致了 bts/bts2 表型。 Bmyellow-e mRNA在气管、睾丸和体被中强烈表达，并且在蜕皮阶段表达显着增加。这种特征与 Bmyellow 非常相似，Bmyellow 是家蚕新生儿体色和身体斑纹的调节剂。定量逆转录-PCR分析表明，Bmyellow-e mRNA在观察到bts表型的头和尾部的珠被中大量表达。目前的结果表明 Yellow-e 在鳞翅目幼虫的色素沉着过程中起着至关重要的作用。
Yellow proteins form a large family in insects. In Drosophila melanogaster, there are 14 yellow genes in the genome. Previous studies have shown that the yellow gene is necessary for normal pigmentation; however, the roles of other yellow genes in body coloration are not known. Here, we provide the first evidence that yellow-e is required for normal body color pattern in insect larvae. In two mutant strains, bts and its allele bts2, of the silkworm Bombyx mori, the larval head cuticle and anal plates are reddish brown instead of the white color found in the wild type. Positional cloning revealed that deletions in the Bombyx homolog of the Drosophila yellow-e gene (Bmyellow-e) were responsible for the bts/bts2 phenotype. Bmyellow-e mRNA was strongly expressed in the trachea, testis, and integument, and expression markedly increased at the molting stages. This profile is quite similar to that of Bmyellow, a regulator of neonatal body color and body markings in Bombyx. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that Bmyellow-e mRNA was heavily expressed in the integument of the head and tail in which the bts phenotype is observed. The present results suggest that Yellow-e plays a crucial role in the pigmentation process of lepidopteran larvae.