title: Insect trehalase: physiological significance and potential applications.
abstract: Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, is widespread throughout the biological world. It is the major blood sugar in insects playing a crucial role as an instant source of energy and in dealing with abiotic stresses. The hydrolysis of trehalose is under the enzymatic control of trehalase. The enzyme trehalase is gaining interest in insect physiology as it regulates energy metabolism and glucose generation via trehalose catabolism. The two forms of insect trehalase namely, Tre-1 and Tre-2, are important in energy supply, growth, metamorphosis, stress recovery, chitin synthesis and insect flight. Insect trehalase has not been reviewed in depth and the information available is quite scattered. The present mini review discusses our recent understanding of the regulation, mechanism and biochemical characterization of insect trehalase with respect to its physiological role in vital life functions. We also highlight the molecular and biochemical properties of insect trehalase that makes it amenable to competitive inhibition by most glycosidase inhibitors. Due to its crucial role in carbon metabolism in insects, application of inhibitors against trehalose can form a promising area towards formulating strategies for insect pest control.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India.
authors.forename: Ekta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India.
authors.forename: Leena J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Thorat
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India.
authors.forename: Bimalendu B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Nath
authors.affiliation: Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India sm.gaikwad@ncl.res.in.
authors.forename: Sushama M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology; D010571:Pest Control; D014198:Trehalase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D014199:Trehalose / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019476:Insect Proteins; D007306:Insecticides; D014199:Trehalose; D014198:Trehalase
keywords: carbohydrate metabolism; glycosidase inhibitor; glycoside hydrolase; trehalase; trehalose