title: Isolation, characterization and expression of the eclosion hormone gene of Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Eclosion hormone (EH) is a neuropeptide that triggers the performance of ecdysis behaviors at the end of a molt. We have isolated the EH gene from Drosophila melanogaster, and localized the gene to the right arm of chromosome 3 at band position 90B1-2. The 97-amino-acid translation product contains a signal peptide followed by a 73-amino-acid prohormone. The N-terminus of the prohormone has diverged from lepidopteran EH both in its length and amino acid composition, and contains a potential endoproteolytic cleavage site. The deduced sequence of Drosophila EH is 58% identical (36 of 62 amino acids) to that of Manduca EH. The EH gene is expressed as a 0.8-kb transcript in a single pair of brain neurons which extend their processes the entire length of the central nervous system and also to the corpora cardiaca portion of the ring gland. These cells show massive depletion of immunoreactive EH at ecdysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Horodyski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ewer
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Riddiford
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Truman
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis
chemical_list: D007301:Insect Hormones; C042645:eclosion hormone; D004247:DNA