Matsumoto Shogo
Molecular Entomology Laboratory, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2010;74(2):223-31. doi: 10.1271/bbb.90756. Epub 2010 Feb 7.
Many species of female moths produce sex pheromones to attract conspecific males. Most moth species utilize Type I pheromones that consist of straight-chain compounds 10-18 carbons in length with a functional group of a primary alcohol, aldehyde, or acetate ester, and usually with several double bonds. Studies over the past three decades have demonstrated that female moths usually produce sex pheromones as multi-component blends in which the ratio of the individual components is precisely controlled, making it possible to generate species-specific pheromone blends. As for the biosynthesis of Type I pheromones, it is well established that they are de novo synthesized in the pheromone gland (PG) through modifications of fatty acid biosynthetic pathways. However, because many of the molecular components within the PG cells (enzymes, proteins, and small regulatory molecules) had not been functionally characterized, the molecular mechanisms underlying sex pheromone production in PG cells remained poorly understood. To address this, we have characterized some of the key molecules involved in the biosynthesis of the sex pheromone bombykol in the silkmoth, Bombyx mori. Characterization of these molecules has facilitated our understanding of the precise mechanisms underlying lepidopteran sex pheromone production.
许多种类的雌性蛾会产生性信息素以吸引同种雄性。大多数蛾类利用I型信息素，其由长度为10 - 18个碳原子的直链化合物组成，带有伯醇、醛或乙酸酯官能团，并且通常带有几个双键。过去三十年的研究表明，雌性蛾通常产生多组分混合的性信息素，其中各组分的比例受到精确控制，从而能够产生物种特异性的信息素混合物。至于I型信息素的生物合成，人们已经清楚它们是通过脂肪酸生物合成途径的修饰在信息素腺（PG）中从头合成的。然而，由于PG细胞内的许多分子成分（酶、蛋白质和小的调节分子）尚未进行功能表征，PG细胞中性信息素产生的分子机制仍然知之甚少。为了解决这个问题，我们已经对家蚕（Bombyx mori）中性信息素蚕蛾醇生物合成所涉及的一些关键分子进行了表征。对这些分子的表征有助于我们理解鳞翅目昆虫性信息素产生的精确机制。
