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Molecular Characterization and Expression Pattern of Two Pheromone-Binding Proteins from Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

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Abstract

Pheromone perception is thought to be mediated by pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) in the lymph surrounding the olfactory receptors. We cloned and characterized two PBP genes (SlitPBP1 and SlitPBP2) from the common cutworm, Spodoptera litura (F.; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which encode PBPs belonging to two different PBP groups. Western blot analysis of the crude antennal extracts with SexigPBP1 antibody revealed a single immunoreactive band (much stronger in male than in female) of ∼16 kDa, in agreement with the calculated values for SlitPBPs. From genomic DNA, two introns and a similar exon/intron structural pattern were identified in each PBP genes, but the introns differed in length within and between PBP genes. The expression patterns of two SlitPBP genes, with respect to tissue distribution and sex, were further investigated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR. Although the two PBP genes were expressed only in the antennae of both sexes, reflecting the antennal specificity of PBPs, the transcription levels of PBP genes differed between the sexes and the genes. The transcription levels of SlitPBP1 and SlitPBP2 in females were only 2.1% and 7.0%, respectively, relative to those in males, and the levels of PBP2 compared with PBP1 were 31.4% and 95.3% in males and females, respectively. These differential expression levels might suggest different roles played by the two SlitPBPs in the perception of sex pheromone both in males and females.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr Jing-Jiang Zhou (Rothamsted Research, UK) and Professor Paolo Pelosi (University of Pisa, Italy) for valuable advice and comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 30571220), Jiangsu Province Natural Science Foundation (grant number BK2004098), and Basic Research Special Foundation of the central-level scientific institute for public welfare (Agro-Environmental Protection Institute of MOA) (grant number 2007-xwm-08).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Plant Diseases and Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Wei-Ming Xiu, Yao-Zhen Zhou & Shuang-Lin Dong

  2. Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Tianjin, 300191, China

    Wei-Ming Xiu

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Xiu, WM., Zhou, YZ. & Dong, SL. Molecular Characterization and Expression Pattern of Two Pheromone-Binding Proteins from Spodoptera litura (Fabricius). J Chem Ecol 34, 487–498 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9452-0

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