Zheng Y-P, Retnakaran A, Krell P J, Arif B M, Primavera M, Feng Q-L
Great Lakes Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, 1219 Queen Street East, ON, P6A 2E5, Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
J Insect Physiol. 2003 Mar;49(3):241-7. doi: 10.1016/s0022-1910(02)00271-8.
Temporal, spatial and induced expression of Choristoneura fumiferana chitinase (CfChitinase) was studied using immunohistochemistry and Western blots. CfChitinase was detected in the integument, the midgut peritrophic membrane, the cuticular lining of the trachea, the spiracle, and salivary glands. The enzyme was expressed as larvae were preparing to molt from one instar to the next. The spatial and temporal expression patterns are consistent with its function in degrading chitin during the molting process. The 20-hydroxyecdysone agonist, tebufenozide (RH5992), induced the expression of the CfChitinase gene in the early stage of the sixth-instar larvae and the enzyme was detected in the epidermis and molting fluid 24 h post treatment.
