title: cDNA cloning and in situ hybridization of Delta11-desaturase, a key enzyme of pheromone biosynthesis in Ostrinia scapulalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).
abstract: Female sex pheromones are considered to be produced in a "pheromone gland" located in the terminal abdominal segments (8th-10th, TAS) of a moth; however, in many moth species, the cells that produce pheromones have not actually been specified. We investigated cells in the TAS that synthesize pheromones in the adzuki bean borer Ostrinia scapulalis, by locating pheromones and their precursors, and mRNA for Delta11-desaturase, a key enzyme in pheromone biosynthesis. We demonstrated that the pheromone components, (E)-11- and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetates, and their fatty acyl precursors were specifically contained in the dorsal part of the TAS. A cDNA (OscaZ/E11) that encodes a Delta11-desaturase was cloned from the TAS. RT-PCR and in situ hybridization unequivocally showed that OscaZ/E11 is specifically expressed in the modified epidermal cells located at the dorsal end of the 8th-9th intersegmental membrane.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuzawa
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Sadahiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tatsuki
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012724:Sex Attractants; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases