title: Cloning and characterization of a midgut-specific fatty acid binding protein in Spodoptera litura.
abstract: A fatty acid binding protein (FABP) gene (Slfabp1) was cloned from the midgut of Spodoptera litura larvae. The gene consists of four exons and three introns and encodes a peptide of 134 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 14.7 kDa, which was confirmed by in vitro protein expression. Northern blot and Western blot analyses indicated that both of Slfabp1 mRNA and protein were highly and specifically expressed in the midgut during the fifth and sixth instar feeding larval stages. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry analyses confirmed the midgut-specific localization of Slfabp1 mRNA and protein. The result of Western blot showed that expression of the protein was downregulated by starvation and upregulated by refeeding in sixth instar larvae. All of the results taken together suggest that the SlFABP1 plays important role(s) in FA uptake and transport in the midgut during the larval feeding stages of the insect.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Daohua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Guiping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Sichun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Qili
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism; D005091:Exons; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007438:Introns; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger