title: Discovery of a disused desaturase gene from the pheromone gland of the moth Ascotis selenaria, which secretes an epoxyalkenyl sex pheromone.
abstract: Female Ascotis selenaria (Geometridae) moths use 3,4-epoxy-(Z,Z)-6,9-nonadecadiene, which is synthesized from linolenic acid, as the main component of their sex pheromone. While the use of dietary linolenic or linoleic fatty acid derivatives as sex pheromone components has been observed in moth species belonging to a few families including Geometridae, the majority of moths use derivatives of a common saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid, as their sex pheromone components. We attempted to gain insight into the differentiation of pheromone biosynthetic pathways in geometrids by analyzing the desaturase genes expressed in the pheromone gland of A. selenaria. We demonstrated that a Δ11-desaturase-like gene (Asdesat1) was specifically expressed in the pheromone gland of A. selenaria in spite of the absence of a desaturation step in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway in this species. Further analysis revealed that the presumed transmembrane domains were degenerated in Asdesat1. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Asdesat1 anciently diverged from the lineage of Δ11-desaturases, which are currently widely used in the biosynthesis of sex pheromones by moths. These results suggest that an ancestral Δ11-desaturase became dysfunctional in A. selenaria after a shift in pheromone biosynthetic pathways.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering (BASE), Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Molecular Entomology Laboratory, RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan. Electronic address: pippi.boo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Masataka G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katsuma
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000201:enzymology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012724:Sex Attractants; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases
keywords: Acyl-CoA desaturase; Geometrid moth; Linolenic acid; ORF; PCR; RACE; RAT; RT-PCR; Sex pheromone biosynthesis; base pair; bp; hours post infection; hpi; open reading frame; polymerase chain reaction; rapid amplification of cDNA ends; reverse transcription PCR; rod-like abdominal tip