(Below N is a link to NCBI taxonomic web page and E link to ESTHER at designed phylum.) > cellular organisms: NE > Eukaryota: NE > Opisthokonta: NE > Metazoa: NE > Eumetazoa: NE > Bilateria: NE > Protostomia: NE > Ecdysozoa: NE > Panarthropoda: NE > Arthropoda: NE > Mandibulata: NE > Pancrustacea: NE > Hexapoda: NE > Insecta: NE > Dicondylia: NE > Pterygota: NE > Neoptera: NE > Holometabola: NE > Amphiesmenoptera: NE > Lepidoptera: NE > Glossata: NE > Neolepidoptera: NE > Heteroneura: NE > Ditrysia: NE > Obtectomera: NE > Bombycoidea: NE > Bombycidae: NE > Bombycinae: NE > Bombyx: NE > Bombyx mori: NE
LegendThis sequence has been compared to family alignement (MSA) red => minority aminoacid blue => majority aminoacid color intensity => conservation rate title => sequence position(MSA position)aminoacid rate Catalytic site Catalytic site in the MSA MLLFYLMFGLLSGVELVKVKITEGWLRGELLEASTGDKKYYSFKGIPYAA PPLGNLRFVAPQPPFSWKNVREATRHGPKCIQTETLSTKLVPGSEDCLFI NVYSPDLKPKEQLPVMFFIYGGGYKSGSGDVDDYGPDFLIRYDVVVVTFN YRLGALGFLCTETKEVPGNAGMKDQVAALRWVKSNIAHFGGNPDQVTIFG QSAGGASVALHTLSPLSKGLFKRAIVMSDSFYNDPLRPFESKMRALVLGK RLGLDTANTTELLDYLRCVPAEKLFIQHPNVIITESIAESVIKLFYFTPV VEKDFGDDHFLTEDPEVLLSQGKIQQDVDLIVGHTNIEGIYNVAQLQDRV LKYYPLYQELLVPRKISNIRAPTKVLELSRLIYRYYFGDRPINLDTIKEF VYYYTDANYAYDVYRFINKFPQSAHKNRFYYIFSPYTERNYYSRLGAERY GLYGSAHRDDLMYLFDGKRFNLTLVKNSTSFKIINNFCALLTNFAKFGNP TPDNSENVIWPKFDKEQRYLNIGKELTARRIMFQQSSLSFWKNILERAKL EF
We have previously cloned and characterized BmJHE, a juvenile hormone (JH)-selective esterase (JHE) that is important for JH titer regulation in the silkworm Bombyx mori. Here, we sought to determine whether multiple genes might function as JH-specific esterase in this species. We searched for putative carboxyl/cholinesterase (CCE) genes having GQSAG, a highly conserved motif in JHE, by the use of silkworm genomic database. Five novel CCE genes (Bmcce-1-5) were identified and their cDNA sequences and intron-exon structures were determined. We investigated the developmental expression patterns of these CCE genes by real-time quantitative PCR analysis and found that their expression patterns varied among developmental stages and organs. Of the proteins produced by the five genes, only BmCCE-5 had the ability to degrade JH; however, this protein might not function as a JH-specific esterase in vivo as it had a high K(m) value for JH. On the other hand, BmCCE-5 degraded general esterase substrates efficiently. Since Bmcce-5 was strongly expressed in Malpighian tubules and the gut, it might function in digestion or xenobiotic metabolism. Our results suggest that of the CCEs containing a GQSAG motif only BmJHE can function as a JH-specific degradation enzyme in the silkworm.
Bombyx mori, the domesticated silkworm, is a major insect model for research, and the first lepidopteran for which draft genome sequences became available in 2004. Two independent data sets from whole-genome shotgun sequencing were merged and assembled together with newly obtained fosmid- and BAC-end sequences. The remarkably improved new assembly is presented here. The 8.5-fold sequence coverage of an estimated 432 Mb genome was assembled into scaffolds with an N50 size of approximately 3.7 Mb; the largest scaffold was 14.5 million base pairs. With help of a high-density SNP linkage map, we anchored 87% of the scaffold sequences to all 28 chromosomes. A particular feature was the high repetitive sequence content estimated to be 43.6% and that consisted mainly of transposable elements. We predicted 14,623 gene models based on a GLEAN-based algorithm, a more accurate prediction than the previous gene models for this species. Over three thousand silkworm genes have no homologs in other insect or vertebrate genomes. Some insights into gene evolution and into characteristic biological processes are presented here and in other papers in this issue. The massive silk production correlates with the existence of specific tRNA clusters, and of several sericin genes assembled in a cluster. The silkworm's adaptation to feeding on mulberry leaves, which contain toxic alkaloids, is likely linked to the presence of new-type sucrase genes, apparently acquired from bacteria. The silkworm genome also revealed the cascade of genes involved in the juvenile hormone biosynthesis pathway, and a large number of cuticular protein genes.
Bombyx mori (Silk moth) juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolase