Davis M T, Vakharia V N, Henry J, Kempe T G, Raina A K
Insect Neurobiology and Hormone Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jan 1;89(1):142-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.1.142.
Pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN) regulates sex pheromone biosynthesis in female Helicoverpa (Heliothis) zea. Two oligonucleotide probes representing two overlapping amino acid regions of PBAN were used to screen 2.5 x 10(5) recombinant plaques, and a positive recombinant clone was isolated. Sequence analysis of the isolated clone showed that the PBAN gene is interrupted after the codon encoding amino acid 14 by a 0.63-kilobase (kb) intron. Preceding the PBAN amino acid sequence is a 10-amino acid sequence containing a pentapeptide Phe-Thr-Pro-Arg-Leu, which is followed by a Gly-Arg-Arg processing site. Immediately after the PBAN amino acid sequence is a Gly-Arg processing site and a short stretch of 10 amino acids. This 10-amino acid sequence contains a repeat of the PBAN C-terminal pentapeptide Phe-Ser-Pro-Arg-Leu and is terminated by another Gly-Arg processing site. It is suggested that the PBAN gene in H. zea might carry, besides PBAN, a 7- and an 8-residue amidated peptide, which share with PBAN the core C-terminal pentapeptide Phe-(Ser or Thr)-Pro-Arg-Leu-NH2. The C-terminal pentapeptide sequence of PBAN represents the minimum sequence required for pheromonotropic activity in H. zea and also bears a high degree of homology to the pyrokinin family of insect peptides with myotropic activity. It is possible that the putative heptapeptide and octapeptide might be new members of the pyrokinin family, with pheromonotropic and/or myotropic activities. Thus, the PBAN gene products, besides affecting sexual behavior, might have broad influence on many biological processes in H. zea.
信息素生物合成激活神经肽（PBAN）调节雌性棉铃虫（烟芽夜蛾）的性信息素生物合成。使用代表PBAN两个重叠氨基酸区域的两个寡核苷酸探针筛选2.5×10⁵个重组噬菌斑，并分离出一个阳性重组克隆。对分离出的克隆进行序列分析表明，PBAN基因在编码第14个氨基酸的密码子之后被一个0.63千碱基（kb）的内含子中断。在PBAN氨基酸序列之前是一个包含五肽Phe-Thr-Pro-Arg-Leu的10个氨基酸序列，其后是一个Gly-Arg-Arg加工位点。紧接在PBAN氨基酸序列之后是一个Gly-Arg加工位点和一段10个氨基酸的短序列。这个10个氨基酸的序列包含PBAN C末端五肽Phe-Ser-Pro-Arg-Leu的重复，并由另一个Gly-Arg加工位点终止。有人提出，棉铃虫中的PBAN基因除了携带PBAN外，可能还携带一个7残基和一个8残基的酰胺化肽，它们与PBAN共享核心C末端五肽Phe-(Ser或Thr)-Pro-Arg-Leu-NH₂。PBAN的C末端五肽序列代表棉铃虫中促性信息素活性所需的最小序列，并且与具有促肌活性的昆虫肽速激肽家族也具有高度同源性。推测的七肽和八肽可能是速激肽家族的新成员，具有促性信息素和/或促肌活性。因此，PBAN基因产物除了影响性行为外，可能对棉铃虫的许多生物学过程有广泛影响。
