Transport of Hydrocarbons by Lipophorin: Oenocytes, Epidermis, Fat Body, and Ovary Interactions

碳氢化合物（“蜡”）在防止水分流失和化学物质（包括杀虫剂）通过昆虫角质层渗透方面发挥着关键作用。在德国蟑螂中，雌性性信息素是由碳氢化合物生物合成途径产生的。Schal博士的实验室此前获得了美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的资助，其结果挑战了碳氢化合物直接从合成它们的卵泡细胞运输到表皮外皮的范式。相反，PI表明角质层脂质是通过血液蛋白从卵泡细胞转运到储存和沉积部位的。他的长期目标是了解碳氢化合物在血液中运输的动力学和规律，并将这些信息应用于开发控制昆虫的新策略。PI的具体研究目标是：(1)记录脂蛋白（一种血液蛋白，来自卵巢细胞、中肠和脂肪体）对碳氢化合物的摄取；(2)表征脂蛋白在被膜、脂肪体和卵巢中沉积烃的机制；(3)测试油气在发育和繁殖过程中输运的动态性。这一建议具有基本的生物学价值，阐明了模式昆虫中脂质产生和运输的动力学。此外，它将为深入了解德国蜚蠊这种对社会产生巨大影响的重要害虫的碳氢化合物运输机制提供帮助。

Hydrocarbons ("waxes") play critical roles in preventing water loss and in penetration of chemicals, including insecticides, through the insect cuticle. In the German cockroach, a female sex pheromone is derived from a hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathway. The results of Dr. Schal's laboratory from a previous NSF grant award have challenged the paradigm that hydrocarbons are transported directly from the oenocytes, which synthesize them, to the epicuticle. Rather, the PI has shown that that cuticular lipids are transported from the oenocytes by a blood protein to storage and deposition sites. His long-range goals are to understand the dynamics and regulation of hydrocarbon transport through the blood and to apply this information towards the development of new tactics of insect control. The PI's specific research objectives are: (1) Document hydrocarbon uptake by lipophorin, a blood protein, from oenocytes, midgut, and fat body; (2) Characterize the mechanisms of hydrocarbon deposition by lipophorin in the integument, fat body, and ovary; and (3) Test the dynamic nature of hydrocarbon transport during development and reproduction. This proposal is of basic biological value, elucidating the dynamics of lipid production and transport in a model insect. Moreover, it will provide an in-depth understanding of mechanisms of hydrocarbon transport in the German cockroach, an important pest of tremendous impact to society.