Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
J Insect Physiol. 2011 Jul;57(7):972-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2011.04.015. Epub 2011 Apr 23.
Workers of the ant species Ectatomma tuberculatum (Ectatomminae) have active ovaries and lay eggs that are eaten by the queen and larvae (trophic eggs). Vitellogenins are the main proteins found in the eggs of insects and are a source of nutrients. The aim of this study was to characterize the period of vitellogenin production in workers of E. tuberculatum. The vitellogenin was identified from queen and worker eggs by SDS-PAGE. Anti-vitellogenin antibodies were obtained and used to detect this protein in the fat body and haemolymph of workers at different ages. Vitellogenin from E. tuberculatum consists of two polypeptides of 31 and 156 kDa. In the eggs of queens, the 156 kDa polypeptide is cleaved into two subunits of 36 and 123 kDa. The analysis of the haemolymph of workers showed that the secretion of vitellogenin varies with age. The secretion is initiated around the fifth day after emergence, with peak production from days 20 to 60, and stops around day 100. The variation in production is related to the different activities performed by the workers within the colony, suggesting that vitellogenin may have an important role in maintaining age polyethism.
工蚁（Ectatomminae 亚科）的卵巢活跃并产卵，这些卵被蚁后和幼虫（营养卵）食用。卵黄蛋白原是昆虫卵中主要的蛋白质，是营养物质的来源。本研究旨在描述 Ectatomma tuberculatum 工蚁卵黄蛋白原的产生时期。通过 SDS-PAGE 从蚁后和工蚁的卵中鉴定出卵黄蛋白原。获得了抗卵黄蛋白原抗体，并用于检测不同年龄工蚁的血淋巴和脂肪体中该蛋白的存在。E. tuberculatum 的卵黄蛋白原由两条 31 和 156 kDa 的多肽组成。在蚁后的卵中，156 kDa 的多肽被切割成 36 和 123 kDa 的两个亚基。对工蚁血淋巴的分析表明，卵黄蛋白原的分泌随年龄而变化。分泌始于出后第 5 天，第 20 至 60 天达到峰值，约 100 天后停止。产量的变化与工蚁在蚁群中执行的不同活动有关，这表明卵黄蛋白原可能在维持年龄多态性方面发挥着重要作用。
