title: Helicoidal Organization of Chitin in the Cuticle of the Migratory Locust Requires the Function of the Chitin Deacetylase2 Enzyme (LmCDA2).
abstract: In the three-dimensional extracellular matrix of the insect cuticle, horizontally aligned microfibrils composed of the polysaccharide chitin and associated proteins are stacked either parallel to each other or helicoidally. The underlying molecular mechanisms that implement differential chitin organization are largely unknown. To learn more about cuticle organization, we sought to study the role of chitin deacetylases (CDA) in this process. In the body cuticle of nymphs of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria, helicoidal chitin organization is changed to an organization with unidirectional microfibril orientation when LmCDA2 expression is knocked down by RNA interference. In addition, the LmCDA2-deficient cuticle is less compact suggesting that LmCDA2 is needed for chitin packaging. Animals with reduced LmCDA2 activity die at molting, underlining that correct chitin organization is essential for survival. Interestingly, we find that LmCDA2 localizes only to the initially produced chitin microfibrils that constitute the apical site of the chitin stack. Based on our data, we hypothesize that LmCDA2-mediated chitin deacetylation at the beginning of chitin production is a decisive reaction that triggers helicoidal arrangement of subsequently assembled chitin-protein microfibrils.
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Rongrong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Daqi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Guowei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Enbo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: the Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506.
authors.forename: KunYan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: the Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China, and.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: the Chair of Applied Zoology, Institute of Zoology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden 01217, Germany. Electronic address: bernard.moussian@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moussian
authors.affiliation: From the Research Institute of Applied Biology and College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China,. Electronic address: zjz@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jianzhen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D048188:Locusta migratoria / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D018978:Molting / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D002686:Chitin; D000581:Amidohydrolases; C019866:chitin deacetylase
keywords: chitin; development; extracellular matrix; insect; lipid binding protein