Developmental expression and hormonal regulation of the nuclear 29 kDa juvenile hormone-binding protein inManduca sexta larval epidermis

Genes encoding putative Takeout/juvenile hormone binding proteins in the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and modulation by age and juvenile hormone of the takeout-like gene GB19811

We identified and characterized eight genes encoding putative Takeout/juvenile hormone binding proteins (To/JHBP) in the honeybee genome. Phylogenetic analyses revealed nine distinct lineages within this gene family, including those containing Takeout (To) and JHBP for which there are no honeybee homologs. Their diversity and ubiquitous expression suggest that To/JHBP proteins are involved in diverse and important processes in insects. We further characterized the expression of one of these genes, GB19811 that is ubiquitously expressed. GB19811 transcript levels in the abdomen increased, and decreased in the head with worker age. There was no influence of colony environment or brood care behavior on GB19811 expression in young bees. Young bees treated with juvenile hormone (JH) showed a decrease in head GB19811 mRNA levels. This finding is consistent with the premise that JH, for which titers typically increase with age, is involved in age-related modulation of GB19811 expression. In contrast to Drosophila Takeout, the expression of GB19811 did not vary with diurnal or circadian rhythms. Taken together, these findings suggest that GB19811 is not an ortholog of Takeout, and is involved in JH-mediated regulation of adult honeybee worker development.

Evidences for a stage-specific juvenile hormone binding protein in the hemolymph of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L.: identification and characterization by photoaffinity labeling and immunological analyses

Two molecular forms of juvenile hormone binding proteins were identified in the larval hemolymph of Bombyx mori by photoaffinity labeling. One form having an Mr of 33 kDa was present constantly in the hemolymph of the third to the fifth instar larvae while the other form having an Mr of 35 kDa was detected in the hemolymph until in the early fifth instar larvae but not in the prewandering larvae and prepupae. A 33 kDa binding protein was purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography, gel filtration, and native PAGE. Antiserum against 33 kDa binding protein cross-reacted with 35 kDa binding protein on Western blots, suggesting that these binding proteins shared the same epitopes. From the results of saturation binding assays, it was inferred that 33 and 35 kDa binding proteins had a similar binding affinity for JH I. It was revealed that one of these binding proteins, 35 kDa binding protein, was produced in the fat body in a stage-specific manner: fat body of the early fifth instar larvae synthesized both 33 and 35 kDa binding proteins while that of prewandering larvae synthesized only 33 kDa binding protein.

Juvenile hormone: the status of its "status quo" action

Juvenile hormone (JH) allows larval molting in response to ecdysteroids but prevents the switching of gene expression necessary for metamorphosis. I first review our efforts to isolate the nuclear receptor for JH in the larval epidermis of Manduca sexta using photoaffinity analogs and our recent findings that the molecule isolated does not bind JH I with high affinity. The reported apparent high affinity binding of JH I by the recombinant 29 kDa protein (rJP29) was artifactual due to the presence of contaminating esterases. Purified rJP29 bound little detectable JH I, but its binding of the photoaffinity analog was prevented by JH I as well as other isoprenoids, indicating a low affinity for these compounds. Our recent studies focus on the effects of JH on the early molecular events induced by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Culture of day 2 5th larval epidermis with 10(-6)M 20E for 24 h caused first pupal commitment, then the onset of the predifferentiative events necessary for pupation. Biphasic increases in the mRNAs of the two isoforms of the ecdysone receptor (EcR-A and EcR-B1) and of E75A, an ecdysteroid-induced transcription factor, coincided with these two phases. The mRNAs for Ultraspiracle (USP) and the metamorphosis-specific Broad-Complex (BR-C) increased only during the second phase. The presence of JH had no effect on the initial increases in EcR mRNAs but caused an increased accumulation of E75A mRNA. This JH also prevented the later changes in EcR, USP, and BR-C mRNAs. Thus, JH influences only certain of the early actions of 20E which then result in its preservation of the "status quo."

Larva lights: a decade of photoaffinity labeling with juvenile hormone analogues

The introduction of photoaffinity labeling into the mode of action of insect hormones and pheromones started 12 yr ago with the photoaffinity labeling of juvenile hormone binding proteins (JHBPs) from cockroaches in the laboratory of the late John K. Koeppe. Applying this technique to Manduca sexta led ultimately to a three-laboratory collaborative project that has begun to dissect the molecular basis for JH transport, metabolism, and nuclear binding and gene activation in Lepidoptera. This review provides (1) a history of the first experiments; (2) an idea of the breadth of the technique in the arthropod classes Insecta, Crustacea, and Arachnida; and (3) evidence for the depth of the technique in unearthing key details about three different types of the molecular action of JH in M. sexta.

Juvenile hormone action to suppress gene transcription and influence message stability

Proteins normally expressed in high abundance only at larval-pupal metamorphosis in Trichoplusia ni were examined in a comparative analysis of the role and level of hormonal control of their expression. Some related proteins in the hemocyanin-superfamily (i.e., an acidic protein [AJHSP1] and two basic proteins [BJHSP1, BJHSP2]) were shown by nuclear run-on analysis to be specifically transcriptionally suppressed by juvenile hormone (JH), while transcription of another member of that family which is also metamorphosis-associated (arylphorin) was not specifically sensitive to JH. The stability of the mRNA for those members transcriptionally down-regulated by JH appeared to decrease under high JH conditions. While each protein was resorbed to some extent by the prepupal fat body, only the two basic proteins were quantitatively cleared from prepupal hemolymph. The JH-sensitive proteins studied appear to be encoded in single copy genes not immediately juxtaposed in the genome. These and previous studies now permit a more comprehensive understanding of the different combinations of mechanisms involving transcription, mRNA stability, translation, and protein clearance that operate to regulate these metamorphosis-associated proteins.