title: Primary structure of proteins from the wing cuticle of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria.
abstract: Wing cuticle from pharate adult locusts, Locusta migratoria, contains several prominent proteins which occur as minor components or are completely absent in other cuticular regions. Six of the wing-specific proteins have been purified and their amino acid sequences determined by combined use of mass spectrometry and automated Edman degradation. During the sequence determination very long sequence runs (90-121 residues) were necessary in order to establish the primary structure. All the wing-specific cuticular proteins from locusts contain the repeated short sequence motif -Ala-Ala-Pro-Ala/Val-, which is common for all hitherto sequenced cuticular proteins from pharate locusts. Several of the wing-specific proteins also possess an N-terminal region rich in glycine, tyrosine and leucine, characteristic for many locust cuticular proteins. Two of the analysed proteins have a conserved 61-residue sequence in common with a previously sequenced protein from locust wing cuticle and with two proteins from the pharate cuticle of adult Tenebrio molitor. Possible roles for the various sequence motifs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Odense University, Denmark.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Krogh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Skou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roepstorff
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Højrup
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins