A new elongase selectively expressed in Drosophila male reproductive system.
We have identified an elongase gene, elo68alpha, which is specifically transcribed in males. We have characterized the elo68alpha open reading frame, expressed it in fasDelta elo1Delta yeast and showed that it could elongate myristoleic and palmitoleic acids, therefore sharing an Elo1 specificity. This elongase was found to be exclusively expressed in male genital system (testis and ejaculatory bulb). Northern blot analysis showed that the elo68alpha gene was inducible at low temperatures. One P-strain mutant for elo68alpha and three excision lines for this P-element were subsequently studied. The excision line with only 1% elo68alpha expression showed decreased levels of vaccenyl acetate, a male pheromone produced in the ejaculatory bulb. The induction of elo68alpha expression at 21 degrees C was also paralleled with higher vaccenyl acetate production. These results strongly suggest that elo68alpha is involved in the elongation of short unsaturated fatty acids in males and might play a role in vaccenyl acetate biosynthesis.
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de l'Apprentissage, de la Mémoire et de la Communication, CNRS UMR 8620, Bât. 446, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 ORSAY Cédex, France.
Thomas
T
Chertemps
Line
L
Duportets
Carole
C
Labeur
Claude
C
Wicker-Thomas
D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D000123:Acetyltransferases; C107117:ELO1 protein, S cerevisiae; C503414:Elo68alpha protein, Drosophila