The mevalonate pathway and the synthesis of juvenile hormone in insects.
The mevalonate pathway in insects has two important peculiarities, the absence of the sterol branch and the synthesis of juvenile hormone (JH), that may have influenced the mechanisms of regulation. The data available on these mechanisms indicate that cholesterol does not play a regulatory role and that JH modulates transcript levels of a number of genes of the mevalonate pathway or can influence the translatability and/or stability of the transcripts themselves. These data suggest that the mevalonate pathway in insects can best be interpreted in terms of coordinated regulation, in which regulators act in parallel to a number of enzymes, as occurs in the cholesterol-driven pathway in vertebrates.
Bellés
Xavier
X
Department of Physiology and Molecular Biodiversity, Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. xbragr@ibmb.csic.es
Martín
David
D
Piulachs
Maria-Dolors
MD
D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007313:Insecta / Q000378:metabolism*; D007605:Juvenile Hormones / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008798:Mevalonic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D012098:Reproduction
D019476:Insect Proteins; D007605:Juvenile Hormones; D008798:Mevalonic Acid