Calliphorin, a major protein of the blowfly: Correlation between the amount of protein, its biosynthesis, and the titer of translatable calliphorin-mRNA during development

Abstract

The amount of calliphorin, its biosynthesis, and the levels of translatable calliphorin-mRNA have been determined during the postembryonic development of Calliphora vicina R.-D. The amount of calliphorin increases in early third-instar larvae, reaching maximal levels in 6-day-old animals. It continuously decreases during late larval and pupal development to approximately one-half of the maximal levels and abruptly sinks during eclosion. The biosynthesis of calliphorin takes place only in 3- to 5-day-old larvae. Poly(A) +-RNA has been translated into proteins in a wheat germ cell-free system. Calliphorin-mRNA can be detected in 3- to 7-day-old larvae; maximal concentrations are observed in 4- and 5-day-old animals. No calliphorin-mRNA can be detected in prepupae, pupae, or imagos. The biosynthesis of calliphorin in blowfly larvae stops before a decrease of translatable calliphorin-mRNA is observed. This finding raises the question of the mechanism of in vivo inactivation of this specific mRNA.