A new aldehyde oxidase selectively expressed in chemosensory organs of insects.
Signal termination is a crucial step in the dynamic of the olfactory process. It involves different classes of odorant-degrading enzymes. Whereas aldehyde oxidase enzymatic activities have been demonstrated in insect antennae by previous biochemical studies, the corresponding enzymes have never been characterized at the molecular level. In the cabbage armyworm Mamestra brassicae, we isolated for the first time an aldehyde oxidase partial cDNA specifically expressed in chemosensory organs, with the strongest expression in antennae of both sexes. In these organs, expression was restricted to the olfactory sensilla. Our results suggest that the corresponding enzyme could degrade aldehyde odorant compounds, such as pheromones or plant's volatiles.
Merlin
C
C
Unité 1272, UPMC-INRA-INA.PG, Physiologie de l'Insecte: Signalisation et Communication, Route de Saint-Cyr, Bat A, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France.
François
M-C
MC
Bozzolan
F
F
Pelletier
J
J
Jacquin-Joly
E
E
Maïbèche-Coisne
M
M
D042931:Aldehyde Oxidase / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D008571:Men; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000201:enzymology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014930:Women
D000447:Aldehydes; D042931:Aldehyde Oxidase