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Sawada H, Mase K, Koyama R, Suenaga A. Inhibitory Effect on RT-PCR and Restriction Enzyme Activity by Ommochrome and Its Mechanism. Zoolog Sci 2023; 40:431-436. [PMID: 38064369 DOI: 10.2108/zs230068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
To explore the physiological role and/or pharmacological effects of ommochrome, which is a natural organic pigment widely distributed in Protostomia, we attempted to investigate the influence of ommochrome on RT-PCR and activities of restriction enzymes. It was found that ommin, an ommochrome purified from the diapause eggs of Bombyx mori, inhibited the RT-PCR and restriction enzyme activities. The mechanism of these inhibitory reactions is assumed to be the direct binding of ommochrome to DNA rather than acting against the enzymes because, similarly to actinomycin D, there is a phenoxazine ring in the structure of ommin that is known to be intercalated to DNA. To reveal the ommin/DNA interaction, it was investigated by computational approaches such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and free energy calculation. From the computational analyses, it was expected that ommin would bind to DNA with almost the same strength as actinomycin D and intercalate into DNA. This is the first report on the pharmacological effect of ommochrome and its inhibitory mechanism obtained from biochemical and computational analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Sawada
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan,
| | - Keisuke Mase
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan
| | - Rimi Koyama
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan
| | - Atsushi Suenaga
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan
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2
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Lin S, Zhang L, Wang G, Huang S, Wang Y. Searching and identifying pigmentation genes from Neocaridina denticulate sinensis via comparison of transcriptome in different color strains. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY. PART D, GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS 2022; 42:100977. [PMID: 35247793 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2022.100977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Aquaria species are characterized by their amazing colors and patterns. Research on the breeding molecular genetics of ornamental shrimps is surprisingly limited. We conducted a transcriptome analysis to investigate the expression of encoding genes in the integument of the strains Neocaridina denticulate sinensis. After assembled and filtered, 19,992 unigenes were annotated by aligning with public functional databases (NR, Swiss-Prot, KEGG, COG). 14,915 unigenes with significantly different expressions were found by comparing three strains integument transcriptomes. Ribosomal protein genes, ABC transporter families, calmodulin, carotenoid proteins and crustacyanin may play roles in the cytological process of pigment migration and chromatophore maintenance. Numerous color genes associated with multiple pathways including melanin, ommochrome and pteridines pathways were identified. The expression patterns of 25 candidate genes were analysis by qPCR in red, yellow, transparent and glass strains. The qPCR results in red, yellow and transparent were consistent with the level of RPKM values in the transcriptomes. The above results will advance our knowledge of integument color varieties in N. denticulate sinensis and help the genetic selection of crustaceans with consumer-favored colors. Furthermore, it also provides some candidate pigmentation genes to investigate the correlation between coloration and sympatric speciation in crustaceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Lin
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Lili Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China.
| | - Guodong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Shiyu Huang
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Yilei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
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Iwata M, Otaki JM. Spatial patterns of correlated scale size and scale color in relation to color pattern elements in butterfly wings. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 85:32-45. [PMID: 26654884 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 11/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Complex butterfly wing color patterns are coordinated throughout a wing by unknown mechanisms that provide undifferentiated immature scale cells with positional information for scale color. Because there is a reasonable level of correspondence between the color pattern element and scale size at least in Junonia orithya and Junonia oenone, a single morphogenic signal may contain positional information for both color and size. However, this color-size relationship has not been demonstrated in other species of the family Nymphalidae. Here, we investigated the distribution patterns of scale size in relation to color pattern elements on the hindwings of the peacock pansy butterfly Junonia almana, together with other nymphalid butterflies, Vanessa indica and Danaus chrysippus. In these species, we observed a general decrease in scale size from the basal to the distal areas, although the size gradient was small in D. chrysippus. Scales of dark color in color pattern elements, including eyespot black rings, parafocal elements, and submarginal bands, were larger than those of their surroundings. Within an eyespot, the largest scales were found at the focal white area, although there were exceptional cases. Similarly, ectopic eyespots that were induced by physical damage on the J. almana background area had larger scales than in the surrounding area. These results are consistent with the previous finding that scale color and size coordinate to form color pattern elements. We propose a ploidy hypothesis to explain the color-size relationship in which the putative morphogenic signal induces the polyploidization (genome amplification) of immature scale cells and that the degrees of ploidy (gene dosage) determine scale color and scale size simultaneously in butterfly wings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Iwata
- The BCPH Unit of Molecular Physiology, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Joji M Otaki
- The BCPH Unit of Molecular Physiology, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan.
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Chen P, Wang J, Li H, Li Y, Chen P, Li T, Chen X, Xiao J, Zhang L. Role of GTP-CHI links PAH and TH in melanin synthesis in silkworm, Bombyx mori. Gene 2015; 567:138-45. [PMID: 25958343 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2015.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2015] [Revised: 03/19/2015] [Accepted: 03/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In insects, pigment patterns are formed by melanin, ommochromes, and pteridines. Here, the effects of pteridine synthesis on melanin formation were studied using 4th instar larvae of a wild-type silkworm strain, dazao (Bombyx mori), with normal color and markings. Results from injected larvae and in vitro integument culture indicated that decreased activity of guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I (GTP-CH I, a rate-limiting enzyme for pteridine synthesis), lowers BH4 (6R-l-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin, a production correlated with GTP-CH I activity) levels and eliminates markings and coloration. The conversion of phenylalanine and tyrosine to melanin was prevented when GTP-CH I was inhibited. When BH4 was added, phenylalanine was converted to tyrosine, and the tyrosine concentration increased. Tyrosine was then converted to melanin to create normal markings and coloration. Decreasing GTP-CH I activity did not affect L-DOPA (3,4-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine). GTP-CH I affected melanin synthesis by generating the BH4 used in two key reaction steps: (1) conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine by PAH (phenylalanine hydroxylase) and (2) conversion of tyrosine to L-DOPA by TH (tyrosine hydroxylase). Expression profiles of BmGTPCH Ia, BmGTPCH Ib, BmTH, and BmPAH in the integument were consistent with the current findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Chen
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China.
| | - Jiying Wang
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Haiyin Li
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Yan Li
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Peng Chen
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Tian Li
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Xi Chen
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Junjie Xiao
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
| | - Liang Zhang
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
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Dennis SR, LeBlanc GA, Beckerman AP. Endocrine regulation of predator-induced phenotypic plasticity. Oecologia 2014; 176:625-35. [PMID: 25284611 PMCID: PMC4207956 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3102-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Elucidating the developmental and genetic control of phenotypic plasticity remains a central agenda in evolutionary ecology. Here, we investigate the physiological regulation of phenotypic plasticity induced by another organism, specifically predator-induced phenotypic plasticity in the model ecological and evolutionary organism Daphnia pulex. Our research centres on using molecular tools to test among alternative mechanisms of developmental control tied to hormone titres, receptors and their timing in the life cycle. First, we synthesize detail about predator-induced defenses and the physiological regulation of arthropod somatic growth and morphology, leading to a clear prediction that morphological defences are regulated by juvenile hormone and life-history plasticity by ecdysone and juvenile hormone. We then show how a small network of genes can differentiate phenotype expression between the two primary developmental control pathways in arthropods: juvenoid and ecdysteroid hormone signalling. Then, by applying an experimental gradient of predation risk, we show dose-dependent gene expression linking predator-induced plasticity to the juvenoid hormone pathway. Our data support three conclusions: (1) the juvenoid signalling pathway regulates predator-induced phenotypic plasticity; (2) the hormone titre (ligand), rather than receptor, regulates predator-induced developmental plasticity; (3) evolution has favoured the harnessing of a major, highly conserved endocrine pathway in arthropod development to regulate the response to cues about changing environments (risk) from another organism (predator).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart R Dennis
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, UK,
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Kato T, Sawada H, Yamamoto T, Mase K, Nakagoshi M. Pigment pattern formation in the quail mutant of the silkworm, Bombyx mori: parallel increase of pteridine biosynthesis and pigmentation of melanin and ommochromes. PIGMENT CELL RESEARCH 2006; 19:337-45. [PMID: 16827752 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0749.2006.00316.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The larval pigment pattern in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is formed by melanin, ommochromes and pteridines. During development all these pigments are synthesized autonomously, and possibly also with mutual interaction between them, to yield unique pigment patterns. In order to find the key trigger for such pigment pattern formation, developmental changes in pteridine biosynthesis were studied using the quail mutant (q/q), which has darker larval marks formed by melanin and an abundance of ommochromes in the integument. In the current study, emphasis has been placed on the analysis of GTP-cyclohydrolase I (GTP-CH I), which is a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of pteridines, during the development of the silkworm. Results of Northern blotting showed that in the quail mutant strong signals of GTP-CH I mRNA appeared around each period of ecdysis, while no such signals appeared in the background strain (+q/q) used. Also, both GTP-CH I activities and pteridine content were higher in the quail mutant compared with the background strain. These results strongly suggest that pteridine biosynthesis is closely linked to the formation of melanin and ommochromes. It is also suggested here that in the silkworm a recessive gene (q) may be involved in the regulation of its pigment pattern formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Kato
- Biological Laboratory, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
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Futahashi R, Fujiwara H. Expression of one isoform of GTP cyclohydrolase I coincides with the larval black markings of the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2006; 36:63-70. [PMID: 16360951 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2005.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2005] [Revised: 10/27/2005] [Accepted: 11/02/2005] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The larva of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus changes its body markings during the fourth ecdysis. We found that stage-specific cuticular black markings are mainly regulated by co-localization of two melanin synthesis enzymes; tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopa decarboxylase (DDC). TH converts tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa), and tyrosine itself is converted from phenylalanine by phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I (GTPCHI) is essential for the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) that is a cofactor of TH and PAH. In this report, we found that a GTPCHI inhibitor prevents pigmentation in cultured integuments, suggesting that the GTPCHI activity is also involved in cuticle pigmentation. We have cloned GTPCHI and PAH cDNAs from P. xuthus and investigated their spatial expression patterns in epidermis by whole-mount in situ hybridization. There are two isoforms of GTPCHI in larval epidermis (GTPCHIa and GTPCHIb). GTPCHIa is expressed at the black markings of the subsequent instar, similar to TH, whereas GTPCHIb is expressed uniformly, similar to PAH. This suggests that the region-specific expression of GTPCHIa supplies sufficient BH(4) reinforcing the TH activity in black marking area. Our results imply that larval markings are regulated by not only melanin synthesis enzymes but also the cofactor supplying enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryo Futahashi
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bioscience Building 501, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
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Reed RD, Nagy LM. Evolutionary redeployment of a biosynthetic module: expression of eye pigment genes vermilion, cinnabar, and white in butterfly wing development. Evol Dev 2005; 7:301-11. [PMID: 15982367 DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142x.2005.05036.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Ommochromes are common among insects as visual pigments; however, in some insect lineages ommochromes have evolved novel functions such as integument coloration and tryptophan secretion. One role of ommochromes, as butterfly wing pigments, can apparently be traced to a single origin in the family Nymphalidae. The synthesis and storage of ommochrome pigments is a complex process that requires the concerted activity of multiple enzyme and transporter molecules. To help understand how this subcellular process appeared in a novel context during evolution, we explored aspects of ommochrome pigment development in the wings of the nymphalid butterfly Vanessa cardui. Using chromatography and radiolabeled precursor incorporation studies we identified the ommochrome xanthommatin as a V. cardui wing pigment. We cloned fragments of two ommochrome enzyme genes, vermilion and cinnabar, and an ommochrome precursor transporter gene, white, and found that these genes were transcribed in wing tissue at relatively high levels during wing scale development. Unexpectedly, however, the spatial patterns of transcription were not associated in a simple way with adult pigment patterns. Although our results suggest that the evolution of ommochrome synthesis in butterfly wings likely arose in part through novel regulation of vermilion, cinnabar, and white transcription, they also point to a complex relationship between transcriptional prepatterns and pigment synthesis in V. cardui.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Reed
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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Abstract
We have previously shown that the systemic injection of sodium tungstate, a general protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) inhibitor, efficiently produces characteristic color-pattern modifications on the wings of the Painted Lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui. By using this method in the present study, we analyzed modification patterns of six species of Japanese butterflies. Whereas in Vanessa indica the black spots on the forewings reduced in size in response to the treatment, in Lycaena phlaeas the morphologically similar black spots enlarged in size. However, the metallic blue spots on the forewings of V. indica did enlarge in size, showing different behavior even within a single wing surface. The response patterns of Ypthima argus differed markedly from those of other species in that ectopic color-pattern elements were created. Colias erate showed minor modifications that coincidentally resembled the natural color-pattern of a closely related species, Colias palaeno. Through a comprehensive literature search, we confirmed the existence of naturally occurring aberrant color patterns with close similarities to the experimentally induced phenocopies in each of the modified species. Our results point out the possibility that a hypothetical transduction pathway with a PTPase for the scale-cell differentiation globally coordinates the wing-wide color-pattern development in butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joji M Otaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kanagawa University, 2946 Tsuchiya, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1293, Japan.
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Abstract
The color patterns on the wings of lepidopterans are among the most striking patterns in nature and have inspired diverse biological hypotheses such as the ecological role of aposomatic coloration, the evolution of mimicry, the role of human activities in industrial melanism, and the developmental basis of phenotypic plasticity. Yet, the developmental mechanisms underlying color pattern development are not well understood for three reasons. First, few mutations that alter color patterns have been characterized at the molecular level, so there is little mechanistic understanding of how mutant phenotypes are produced. Second, although gene expression patterns resembling adult color patterns are suggestive, there are few data available showing that gene products have a functional role in color pattern formation. Finally, because with few exceptions (notably Bombyx), genetic maps for most species of Lepidoptera are rudimentary or nonexistent, it is very difficult to characterize spontaneous mutants or to determine whether mutations with similar phenotypes are because of lesions in the same gene or different genes. Discussed here are two strategies for overcoming these difficulties: germ-line transformation of lepidopteran species using transposon vectors and amplified frequency length polymorphism-based genetic mapping using variation between divergent strains within a species or between closely related and interfertile species. These advances, taken together, will create new opportunities for the characterization of existing genetic variants, the creation of new sequence-tagged mutants, and the testing of proposed functional genetic relationships between gene products, and will greatly facilitate our understanding of the evolution and development of lepidopteran color patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Marcus
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA.
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