Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Novel ability of diflubenzuron as an inhibitor of mitochondrial function
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Feb 9:104088. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104088. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCompounds classified as benzoylphenylurea (BPU), such as diflubenzuron (DFB), are used as insecticides. Although BPU disrupts molting by inhibiting chitin biosynthesis and exhibits insecticidal activity, their exact mode of action remains unknown. Since epidermal cells proliferate and morphologically change from squamous to columnar cells during the early stages of insect molting, we speculate that a transition similar to that from epithelium to mesenchyme occurs and that BPU may inhibit this transition. Here, we addr...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - February 11, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Kotaro Mori Yoshiaki Nakagawa Bunta Watanabe Hiroshi Miyata Tsuyoshi Morita Ken'ichiro Hayashi Source Type: research

Doublesex is essential for masculinization but not feminization in Lygus hesperus
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Feb 1;166:104085. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104085. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn most holometabolous insects, sex differentiation occurs via a hierarchical cascade of transcription factors, with doublesex (dsx) regulating genes that control sex-specific traits. Although less is known in hemimetabolous insects, early evidence suggests that substantial differences exist from more evolutionarily advanced insects. Here, we identified and characterized dsx in Lygus hesperus (western tarnished plant bug), a hemipteran pest of many agricultural crops in western North America. The full-length trans...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - February 2, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: J Joe Hull Chan C Heu Roni J Gross Dannialle M LeRoy Inana X Schutze Daniel Langhorst Jeffrey A Fabrick Colin S Brent Source Type: research

Functional importance of groups I and II chitinases, CHT5 and CHT10, in turnover of chitinous cuticle during embryo hatching and post-embryonic molting in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum
In this study we investigated the functions of CHT5 and CHT10 in turnover of chitinous cuticle in T. castaneum during embryonic and post-embryonic molting stages. RNAi and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analyses indicate that CHT10 is required for cuticular chitin degradation at each molting period analyzed, while CHT5 is essential for pupal-adult molting only. We further analyzed the functions of these genes during embryogenesis in T. castaneum. Real-time qPCR analysis revealed that peak expression of CHT10 occurred prior to that of CHT5 during embryonic development as has been observed at post-embryonic molting ...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 31, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Myeongjin Kim Mi Young Noh Seulgi Mun Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan Karl J Kramer Yasuyuki Arakane Source Type: research

Drosophila cytokine GBP2 exerts immune responses and regulates GBP1 expression through GPCR receptor Mthl10
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 29:104086. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104086. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTGrowth-blocking peptide (GBP), an insect cytokine, was first found in armyworm Mythimna separata. A functional analogue of GBP, stress-responsive peptide (SRP), was also identified in the same species. SRP gene expression has been also demonstrated to be enhanced by GBP, indicating that both cytokines are organized within a hierarchical regulatory network. Although GBP1 (CG15917) and GBP2 (CG11395) have been identified in Drosophila melanogaster, immunological functions have only been characterized for GBP1. It is ex...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 31, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Masaya Ono Takashi Matsumura Eui Jae Sung Takashi Koyama Masanori Ochiai Stephen B Shears Yoichi Hayakawa Source Type: research

Bmpali, Bmb1 and Bmcap are necessary for uric acid granule formation in Bombyx mori
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 24:104075. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104075. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTUric acid is the end-product of nitrogen metabolism of the silkworm and other lepidopterans. The accumulation of uric acid particles in the epidermis causes the larval silkworm to appear white and opaque. However, the mechanism of uric acid granule formation is still unclear. Silkworm epidermis color is linked to the genes responsible for uric acid particle formation. We first identified two genes in the Bombyx mori genome that encode subunits of the Bloc-1 (Biogenesis of Lysosome-related Organelles Complex-1) by hom...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 26, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Linmeng Tang Dongbin Chen Dehong Yang Zhiwei Liu Xu Yang Yujia Liu Liying Zhang Zulian Liu Yaohui Wang Zheng Tang Yongping Huang Source Type: research

Metabolic and transcriptomic characterization of summer and winter dormancy in the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 14;166:104074. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104074. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe solitary bee Osmia lignaria is a native pollinator in North America with growing economic importance. The life cycle of O. lignaria provides a unique opportunity to compare the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying two ecologically contrasting dormancies within the same species. O. lignaria prepupae become dormant during the summer to avoid high temperatures. Shortly after adult eclosion, they enter a second dormancy and overwinter as diapausing adults. To compare these two dormancies, we measured...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 16, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Dacotah Melicher Alex S Torson George D Yocum Jordi Bosch William P Kemp Julia H Bowsher Joseph P Rinehart Source Type: research

A single mutation in the mosquito (Aedes aegypti) olfactory receptor 8 causes loss of function to 1-octen-3-ol
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 12:104069. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.104069. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe host-seeking behavior of mosquitoes have long been established to be primarily odor-mediated. In this process, olfactory receptors (Ors) play a critical role. 1-Octen-3-ol is a common volatile compound that is attractive to hematophagous arthropods such as mosquitos. The olfactory receptor 8 (AaOr8) on the tip of the stylet and maxillary palp of Aedes aegypti is tuned to 1-octen-3-ol, which is required for mosquitoes to quickly find blood vessels from a vertebrate host. However, little is known about the interact...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 14, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Olga Frunze Dain Lee Seungha Lee Hyung Wook Kwon Source Type: research

Peritrophins are involved in the defense against Bacillus thuringiensis and nucleopolyhedrovirus formulations in Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 11;166:104073. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104073. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe peritrophic matrix (or peritrophic membrane, PM) is present in most insects where it acts as a barrier to mechanical insults and pathogens, as well as a facilitator of digestive processes. The PM is formed by the binding of structural PM proteins, referred to as peritrophins, to chitin fibrils and spans the entire midgut in lepidopterans. To investigate the role of peritrophins in a highly polyphagous lepidopteran pest, namely the cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis), we generated Insect Intestinal Mucin (...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 12, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: G özde Güney Doga Cedden Sabine H änniger Dwayne D Hegedus David G Heckel Umut Toprak Source Type: research

From the fat body to the hemolymph: Profiling tick immune and storage proteins through transcriptomics and proteomics
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Feb;165:104072. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104072. Epub 2024 Jan 5.ABSTRACTTicks are blood-feeding arachnids that are known to transmit various pathogenic microorganisms to their hosts. During blood feeding, ticks activate their metabolism and immune system to efficiently utilise nutrients from the host's blood and complete the feeding process. In contrast to insects, in which the fat body is known to be a central organ that controls essential metabolic processes and immune defense mechanisms, the function of the fat body in tick physiology is still relatively unexplored. To fill this gap, we so...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 7, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Veronika Urbanov á Stephen Lu Eli ška Kalinová Larissa Martins Tereza Kozelkov á Filip Dy čka Jos é M Ribeiro Ond řej Hajdušek Jan Perner Petr Kop áček Source Type: research

From the fat body to the hemolymph: Profiling tick immune and storage proteins through transcriptomics and proteomics
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 5:104072. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104072. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTicks are blood-feeding arachnids that are known to transmit various pathogenic microorganisms to their hosts. During blood feeding, ticks activate their metabolism and immune system to efficiently utilise nutrients from the host's blood and complete the feeding process. In contrast to insects, in which the fat body is known to be a central organ that controls essential metabolic processes and immune defence mechanisms, the function of the fat body in tick physiology is still relatively unexplored. To fill this gap, w...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 7, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Veronika Urbanov á Stephen Lu Eli ška Kalinová Larissa Martins Tereza Kozelkov á Filip Dy čka Jos é M Ribeiro Ond řej Hajdušek Jan Perner Petr Kop áček Source Type: research

The biology of insect chitinases and their roles at chitinous cuticles
We describe their variations in terms of temporal and spatial expression patterns, molecular function, and physiological consequences at chitinous cuticles. We further provide insight into the catalytic mechanisms by discussing chitinase protein domain structures, substrate binding, and enzymatic activities with respect to structural analysis of the enzymatic GH18 domain, substrate-binding cleft, and characteristic TIM-barrel structure.PMID:38184175 | DOI:10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104071 (Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 6, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Dhyeykumar Rabadiya Matthias Behr Source Type: research

AminoacWylase efficiently hydrolyses fatty acid amino acid conjugates of Helicoverpa armigera potentially to increase the pool of glutamine
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Jan 2:104070. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104070. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOne of the most prevalent bioactive molecules present in the oral secretion (OS) of lepidopteran insects is fatty acid amino acid conjugates (FACs). Insect dietary components have influence on the synthesis and retaining the pool of FACs in the OS. We noted differential and diet-specific accumulation of FACs in the OS of Helicoverpa armigera by using Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry. Interestingly, we identified FACs hydrolyzing enzyme aminoacylase (HaACY) in the OS of H. armigera thro...
Source: Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - January 4, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Gopal S Kallure Shubhranshu Shekhar Sahoo Rutuja S Kale Vitthal T Barvkar Ravindar Kontham Ashok P Giri Source Type: research