title: Evolution of moth sex pheromone composition by a single amino acid substitution in a fatty acid desaturase.
abstract: For sexual communication, moths primarily use blends of fatty acid derivatives containing one or more double bonds in various positions and configurations, called sex pheromones (SPs). To study the molecular basis of novel SP component (SPC) acquisition, we used the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), which uses a blend of mono-, di-, and uncommon triunsaturated fatty acid (3UFA) derivatives as SP. We identified pheromone-biosynthetic fatty acid desaturases (FADs) MsexD3, MsexD5, and MsexD6 abundantly expressed in the M. sexta female pheromone gland. Their functional characterization and in vivo application of FAD substrates indicated that MsexD3 and MsexD5 biosynthesize 3UFAs via E/Z14 desaturation from diunsaturated fatty acids produced by previously characterized Z11-desaturase/conjugase MsexD2. Site-directed mutagenesis of sequentially highly similar MsexD3 and MsexD2 demonstrated that swapping of a single amino acid in the fatty acyl substrate binding tunnel introduces E/Z14-desaturase specificity to mutated MsexD2. Reconstruction of FAD gene phylogeny indicates that MsexD3 was recruited for biosynthesis of 3UFA SPCs in M. sexta lineage via gene duplication and neofunctionalization, whereas MsexD5 representing an alternative 3UFA-producing FAD has been acquired via activation of a presumably inactive ancestral MsexD5. Our results demonstrate that a change as small as a single amino acid substitution in a FAD enzyme might result in the acquisition of new SP compounds.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic;
authors.forename: Aleš
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buček
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University in Prague, 500 05 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic;
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Matoušková
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Entomology, D-07745, Jena, Germany;
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic;
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Šebesta
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic;
authors.forename: Ullrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jahn
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Mass Spectrometry Group, D-07745, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Jerrit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weißflog
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Mass Spectrometry Group, D-07745, Jena, Germany svatos@ice.mpg.de iva.pichova@uochb.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Aleš
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Svatoš
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic; svatos@ice.mpg.de iva.pichova@uochb.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pichová
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018402:Manduca / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012724:Sex Attractants; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases
keywords: Manduca sexta; fatty acid desaturase; pheromone evolution; sex pheromone biosynthesis; substrate specificity