Identification of an Allatotropin from Adult Manduca Sexta

Abstract

A peptide that strongly stimulates the secretion of juvenile hormone from corpora allata in vitro (allatotropin) has been purified from extracts of heads of pharate adult Manduca sexta. The primary structure of this 13-residue peptide has been determined: H-Gly-Phe-Lys-Asn-Val-Glu-Met-Met-Thr-Ala-Arg-Gly-Phe-NH(2). This neurohormone has no sequence similarity with any known neuropeptide from other organisms. Synthetic allatotropin, as well as truncation fragments, including one with the five amino terminal residues deleted, showed in vitro activity indistinguishable from that of native allatotropin.

Immunostaining for allatotropin and allatostatin-A and -C in the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Anopheles albimanus

“…AT was first isolated from M. sexta as a factor that stimulates the synthesis of JH in the CA (Kataoka et al 1989). Previously, we have reported that the CA of a newly emerged A. aegypti female needs to be exposed to AT before it is capable of synthesizing JH (Li et al 2003).…”

“…Allatostatins (AS) and allatotropins (AT) are structurally diverse peptides that were first described as modulators of juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis in the corpora allata (CA) of a number of insect species (Kataoka et al 1989;Woodhead et al 1989;Kramer et al 1991;Lorenz and Hoffmann 1995;Gilbert et al 2000). AS and AT have subsequently been recognized as having multiple physiological effects, controlling processes such as heart rate and gut motility, nutrient absorption, migratory preparedness, and modulation of the circadian cycle (Bendena et al 1999;Nässel 2002;Petri et al 2002;Elekonich and Horodyski 2003).…”

“…In contrast, only one type of AT has been isolated and functionally characterized; this AT was originally identified from the heads of pharate adult Manduca sexta (Mas-AT), with analogs being isolated from brain of Spodoptera frugiperda (Kataoka et al 1989;Oeh et al 2000), from the male accessory glands of Locusta migratoria (Paemen et al 1991), and from the mosquito Aedes aegypti (Veenstra and Costes 1999;Li et al 2003).…”

Mas‐allatotropin in the developing antennal lobe of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta: Distribution, time course, developmental regulation, and colocalization with other neuropeptides

“…13.3.91, kindly provided by Dr. J. Veenstra, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France; Veenstra and Hagedorn, 1993). The antiserum recognizes Mas-AT (Kataoka et al, 1989) and Locusta myotropin (Veenstra and Hagedorn, 1993), both ending with TARGFamide. Specificity of the anti-Mas-AT antiserum has been shown by preadsorption of the antiserum with 100 lM synthetic Mas-AT (Bachem, Bubendorf, Switzerland) for 1 h at room temperature, which abolished all immunostaining in M. sexta brain sections (data not shown).…”

“…Mas-allatotropin, an amidated tridecapeptide (GFKNVEMMTARGF-NH 2 ) was isolated from heads of pharate adults of M. sexta (Kataoka et al, 1989). Since then, allatotropins (-TARGFamides) have been shown to be a highly conserved insect neuropeptide family (for reviews see Elekonich and Horodyski, 2003;Homberg et al, 2004;Nässel and Homberg, 2006).…”