Eur. J. Entomol. 94 (3): 369-379, 1997
Factors regulating juvenile hormone and ecdysteroid biosynthesis in Gryllus bimaculatus (Ensifera: Gryllidae)
- N/A
A family of neuropeptides (B-allatostatins) from the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, which had been purified on the basis of their ability to inhibit juvenile hormone III biosynthesis by cricket corpora allata and which showed high sequence homology with a class of myo-inhibiting peptides from locusts and butterflies, also effectively inhibit ovarian ecdysteroid biosynthesis, thus acting as ecdysiostatins. Within a 3 h in vitro incubation, ecdysteroid production was inhibited between 45 and 50% at 10-7-10-9 M Grb-AST B1 and B2, respectively. Grb-AST B3 and B4 were less effective in inhibiting ecdysteroid biosynthesis (inhibition up to 30%). Additional ecdysiostatic and allatostatic factors occurred in testes from 2-4 day-old adult males. Solid phase fractionation on C18 SEP-PAK cartridges indicated the existence of several polar and non-polar substances with ecdysiostatic activity. Further purification of one of these fractions by means of reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography indicated that some of these factors are probably small peptides, and that at least one of these factors also inhibits juvenile hormone biosynthesis.
Keywords: Ecdysteroids, juvenile hormone, ecdysiostatin, allatostatin, peptides, ovary, testes, Gryllus bimaculatus
Accepted: November 19, 1996; Published: July 30, 1997 Show citation
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.