title: Juvenile hormone biosynthesis in moths: synthesis and evaluation of farnesol homologs as alternate substrates of farnesol oxidase.
abstract: The oxidation of farnesol to farnesal is an important step in insect juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis and is mediated by one or more alcohol oxidases located within the minute endocrine gland, the corpus allatum. Because lepidopteran insects have the capacity to produce homologous JH structures, the substrate selectivity of farnesol oxidase was examined by determining the ability of several terpenol homologs to inhibit farnesol oxidation in moths. Results utilizing corpora allata homogenates from larval, adult, and embryonic Manduca sexta indicate that increased steric bulk at the C-3 position of the sesquiterpenol chain is detrimental to inhibitory potency. Triethylhomofarnesol (1h), which is precursor to JH 0 and therefore a physiologically important metabolite of M. sexta embryos, was found to be a poor inhibitor of farnesol oxidation but was oxidized in almost same amount as farnesol. This data indicate that farnesol oxidase of the corpus allatum plays a limited role in controlling JH homolog production in moths, and suggests that another oxidative enzyme, which is present at early stages of moth development, is involved in JH homolog construction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), 402 North Blackford Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. sen@chem.iupui.edu
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sperry
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Childress
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Hannemann
mesh_terms: D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003335:Corpora Allata / Q000378:metabolism; D005204:Farnesol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007605:Juvenile Hormones / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D018402:Manduca / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013729:Terpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D007605:Juvenile Hormones; D013729:Terpenes; D005204:Farnesol; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases