Abstract
Corpora allata from adult female Manduca sexta biosynthesize the sesquiterpenoid juvenile hormone (JH) III and the unusual ethyl-branched homologue JH II in vitro. We maintained corpora allata in medium 199 using [methyl-3H]methionine as the source of the JH methyl ester moiety and as a mass marker. This allowed measurement of the relative contributions of 14C-labeled precursors to the biogenesis of JH II and III carbon skeletons. We showed efficient incorporation of a propionate equivalent, from isoleucine or valine catabolism, into the ethyl-branched portion of JH II, using double-label liquid scintillation counting of isolated JHs and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring of JH deuteromethoxyhydrin derivatives. Methionine was a poor source of propionate for JH II biosynthesis, while glucose, succinate, threonine, and β-alanine did not contribute propionate at all. Leucine, isoleucine, and glucose incorporated into JH III and the acetate-derived portion of JH II.
Keywords: juvenile hormones II and III, Manduca sexta, corpora allata, amino acid catabolism
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Baker F. C., Schooley D. A. Biosynthesis of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-ethylglutaryl-CoA, mevalonate and homomevalonate by insect corpus allatum and mammalian hepatic tissues. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1981 May 22;664(2):356–372. doi: 10.1016/0005-2760(81)90058-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Feyereisen R., Farnsworth D. E. Precursor supply for insect juvenile hormone III biosynthesis in a cockroach. J Biol Chem. 1987 Feb 25;262(6):2676–2681. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- GOLDFINE H., STADTMAN E. R. Propionic acid metabolism. 5. The conversion of beta-alanine to propionic acid by cellfree extracts of Clostridium propioncum. J Biol Chem. 1960 Aug;235:2238–2245. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- HATCH M. D., STUMPF P. K. Fat metabolism in higher plants. XVIII. Propionate metabolism by plant tissues. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1962 Feb;96:193–198. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(62)90398-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Halarnkar P. P., Nelson J. H., Heisler C. R., Blomquist G. J. Metabolism of propionate to acetate in the cockroach Periplaneta americana. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1985 Feb 1;236(2):526–534. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(85)90655-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Judy K. J., Schooley D. A., Dunham L. L., Hall M. S., Bergot B. J., Siddall J. B. Isolation, Structure, and Absolute Configuration of a New Natural Insect Juvenile Hormone from Manduca sexta. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 May;70(5):1509–1513. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.5.1509. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Metzler M., Dahm K. H., Meyer D Röller H. On the biosynthesis of juvenile hormone in the adult Cecropia moth. Z Naturforsch B. 1971 Dec;26(12):1270–1276. doi: 10.1515/znb-1971-1215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Peter M. G., Dahm K. H. Biosynthesis of juvenile hormone in the Cecropia moth. Labelling pattern from 1-[14C]-propionate through degradation to single carbon atom derivatives. Helv Chim Acta. 1975 Jun 4;58(4):1037–1048. doi: 10.1002/hlca.19750580407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schooley D. A., Judy K. J., Bergot B. J., Hall M. S., Siddall J. B. Biosynthesis of the Juvenile Hormones of Manduca sexta: Labeling Pattern from Mevalonate, Propionate, and Acetate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Oct;70(10):2921–2925. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.10.2921. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]