2. Academic Validation
  3. Lepidopteran wing scales contain abundant cross-linked film-forming histidine-rich cuticular proteins

Lepidopteran wing scales contain abundant cross-linked film-forming histidine-rich cuticular proteins

  • Commun Biol. 2021 Apr 22;4(1):491. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-01996-4.
Jianqiu Liu 1 2,  Zhiwei Chen 1,  Yingdan Xiao 1 2,  Tsunaki Asano 3,  Shenglong Li 1,  Li Peng 4,  Enxiang Chen 1 2,  Jiwei Zhang 1,  Wanshun Li 1 2,  Yan Zhang 1 2,  Xiaoling Tong 2,  Keiko Kadono-Okuda 5,  Ping Zhao 2,  Ningjia He 1,  Kallare P Arunkumar 1 2 6,  Karumathil P Gopinathan 7,  Qingyou Xia 2,  Judith H Willis 8,  Marian R Goldsmith 9 10 11,  Kazuei Mita 12 13
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
  • 2 Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
  • 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.
  • 4 Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology and Center of Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
  • 5 Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Japan.
  • 6 Central Muga Eri Research and Training Institute, (CMER&TI), Central Silk Board, Jorhat, India.
  • 7 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
  • 8 Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. [email protected].
  • 10 Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. [email protected].
  • 11 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA. [email protected].
  • 12 State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. [email protected].
  • 13 Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. [email protected].
PMID: 33888855 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01996-4
Abstract

Scales are symbolic characteristic of Lepidoptera; however, nothing is known about the contribution of cuticular proteins (CPs) to the complex patterning of lepidopteran scales. This is because scales are resistant to solubilization, thus hindering molecular studies. Here we succeeded in dissolving developing wing scales from Bombyx mori, allowing analysis of their protein composition. We identified a distinctive class of histidine rich (His-rich) CPs (6%-45%) from developing lepidopteran scales by LC-MS/MS. Functional studies using RNAi revealed CPs with different histidine content play distinct and critical roles in constructing the microstructure of the scale surface. Moreover, we successfully synthesized films in vitro by crosslinking a 45% His-rich CP (BmorCPR152) with laccase2 using N-acetyl- dopamine or N-β-alanyl-dopamine as the substrate. This molecular study of scales provides fundamental information about how such a fine microstructure is constructed and insights into the potential application of CPs as new biomaterials.

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