The Key Sericultural Laboratory of Agricultural Ministry, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing 400715, China.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2010 Mar;40(3):228-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2010.01.010. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
The silkworm is a model organism for Lepidoptera. Its cuticle is composed mainly of chitin and proteins, which plays essential roles in multiple physiological functions. The binding of proteins to chitin plays an important role for cuticle formation. In this research, a chitin-binding assay followed by a proteomics analysis was carried out using the proteins extracted from the 5th instar larval cuticles. As results, twenty-two proteins were identified including nine cuticular proteins, two lysozyme precursors, two proteins with chitin-binding-type 2 domains, and other proteins. A cuticular protein with the RR-1 consensus, BmorCPR56, and a silkworm Tweedle protein, BmorCPT1, were detected in the chitin-binding fraction for the first time and their chitin-binding activities were further confirmed in vitro. The results of this research increase our understanding of the structure of the silkworm larval cuticle.
家蚕是鳞翅目昆虫的模式生物。其表皮主要由几丁质和蛋白质组成，在多种生理功能中发挥着重要作用。蛋白质与几丁质的结合对表皮的形成起着重要作用。在这项研究中，使用 5 龄幼虫表皮中提取的蛋白质进行了几丁质结合测定和蛋白质组学分析。结果鉴定出 22 种蛋白质，包括 9 种表皮蛋白、2 种溶菌酶前体、2 种具有几丁质结合型 2 结构域的蛋白质和其他蛋白质。首次在几丁质结合部分检测到 RR-1 共识的表皮蛋白 BmorCPR56 和家蚕 Tweedle 蛋白 BmorCPT1，并进一步在体外证实了它们的几丁质结合活性。这项研究的结果增加了我们对家蚕幼虫表皮结构的理解。
