Isolation functional characterization of allatotropin receptor from the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera

  • Peptides. 2019 Dec;122:169874. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2017.11.019.
Fang Zhang  1 ,  Jun Wang  1 ,  Kiran Thakur  1 ,  Fei Hu  1 ,  Jian-Guo Zhang  1 ,  Xing-Fu Jiang  2 ,  Shi-Hen An  3 ,  Hongbo Jiang  4 ,  Li Jiang  5 ,  Zhao-Jun Wei  6
Affiliations
  • 1. School of Food Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
  • 2. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
  • 3. College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
  • 4. Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
  • 5. School of Food Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6. School of Food Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 29198647 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2017.11.019
Abstract

Insect allatotropin (AT) plays multi-functions including regulation of juvenile hormone synthesis, growth, development and reproduction. In the present study, the full-length cDNA encoding the AT receptor was cloned from the brain of Helicoverpa armigera (Helar-ATR). The ORF of Helar-ATR exhibited the characteristic seven transmembrane domains of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and was close to the ATR of Manduca sexta in the phylogenetic tree. The Helar-ATR expressed in vertebrate cell lines can be activated by Helar-AT and each Helar-ATL in a dose-responsive manner, in the following order: Helar-ATLI > Helar-ATLII > Helar-AT > Helar-ATLIII. Helar-ATLI and Helar-ATLII represented the functional ligands to Helar-ATR in vitro, while Helar-AT and Helar-ATLIII behaved as partial agonists. The in vitro functional analysis suggested that the Helar-ATR signal was mainly coupled with elevated levels of CA2+ and independent of cAMP levels. Helar-ATR mRNA in larvae showed the highest level in the brain, followed by the thorax ganglion, abdomen ganglion, fat body and midgut. Helar-ATR mRNA levels in the complex of the brain-thoracic-abdomen ganglion on the 2nd day of the larval stage and during later pupal stages were observed to be relatively higher than in the wandering and early pupal stages.

Keywords
Allatotropin; Expression; G protein-coupled receptors; Helicoverpa armigera; Neuropeptides.
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