Juvenile_hormone_esterase

Family: Juvenile_hormone_esterase

Block: C

Parent Family: Carboxylesterase

Comment

Juvenile hormone JH is an insect hormone containing an alpha,beta-unsaturated ester consisting of a small alcohol and long hydrophobic acid. JH degradation is required for proper insect development. One pathway of this degradation is through juvenile hormone esterase JHE which cleaves the JH ester bond to produce methanol and JH acid. Another way of degradation of JH is epoxyde hydrolysis. Most insect species contain only juvenile hormone (JH) III. To date JH 0, JH I, and JH II have been identified only in the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). The form JHB3 (JH III bisepoxide) appears to be the most important JH in the Diptera, or flies. Certain species of crustaceans have been shown to produce and secrete methyl farnesoate, which is juvenile hormone III lacking the epoxide group. Methyl farnesoate is believed to play a role similar to that of JH in crustaceans. In drosophila DmJHE is the hormone esterase with precise regulation and highly specific activity for its substrate, juvenile hormone. DmJHEdup is an odorant degrading esterase (ODE) responsible for processing various kairomones in antennae