Final steps in JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Final steps in JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Elisabeth Marchal1*, Heleen Verlinden1, Liesbeth Badisco1, Jinrui Zhang2, Stephen S. Tobe2 and Jozef Vanden Broeck1 1 Catholic University of Leuven, Department of Biology, Research Group of Molecular Developmental Physiology and Signal Transduction, Belgium 2 University of Toronto, Department of Cell and Systems Biology, Canada Post-embryonic development in insects is highly dependent on two hormones: the steroid molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone and the sesquiterpenoid, juvenile hormone (JH). While regular peaks in the ecdysteroid titer trigger each molt, JH determines the nature of the developmental transition. Its presence causes the insect to undergo a larval-larval molt. When the JH titer drops at the end of the last larval stage, its absence causes the insect to molt into its final adult form.. Next to its role in insect development and metamorphosis, JH also influences other major processes during insect life such as aging, diapause, caste differentiation, phenotypic plasticity and reproduction. In insects JH is produced in the corpora allata (CA), a pair of small endocrine glands near the brain. Its biosynthetic pathway can be divided into two phases. The first phase comprises the well-conserved mevalonate pathway. Using endogenous acetyl-CoA, farnesyl-pyrophosphate (FPP) is formed. The second phase is arthropod-specific and involves the conversion of FPP to the functional hormone. The last steps in this arthropod-specific phase involve the epoxidation and esterification of farnesoic acid. The order, in which these reactions occur, appears to be species-dependent. We will focus on these last enzymatic steps in the biosynthesis of JH in an orthopteran insect, the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Keywords: comparative endocrinology Conference: 25th Conference of the European Comparative Endocrinologists, Pécs, Hungary, 31 Aug - 4 Sep, 2010. Presentation Type: Conference Presentation Topic: Comparative endocrinology Citation: Marchal E, Verlinden H, Badisco L, Zhang J, Tobe SS and Broeck J (2010). Final steps in JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Front. Endocrinol. Conference Abstract: 25th Conference of the European Comparative Endocrinologists. doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2010.01.00041 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 26 Aug 2010; Published Online: 30 Aug 2010. * Correspondence: Dr. Elisabeth Marchal, Catholic University of Leuven, Department of Biology, Research Group of Molecular Developmental Physiology and Signal Transduction, Leuven, Belgium, elisabeth.marchal@bio.kuleuven.be Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Elisabeth Marchal Heleen Verlinden Liesbeth Badisco Jinrui Zhang Stephen S Tobe Jozef Vanden Broeck Google Elisabeth Marchal Heleen Verlinden Liesbeth Badisco Jinrui Zhang Stephen S Tobe Jozef Vanden Broeck Google Scholar Elisabeth Marchal Heleen Verlinden Liesbeth Badisco Jinrui Zhang Stephen S Tobe Jozef Vanden Broeck PubMed Elisabeth Marchal Heleen Verlinden Liesbeth Badisco Jinrui Zhang Stephen S Tobe Jozef Vanden Broeck Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.