Shukla Ekta, Thorat Leena J, Nath Bimalendu B, Gaikwad Sushama M
Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India.
Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India.
Glycobiology. 2015 Apr;25(4):357-67. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwu125. Epub 2014 Nov 26.
Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, is widespread throughout the biological world. It is the major blood sugar in insects playing a crucial role as an instant source of energy and in dealing with abiotic stresses. The hydrolysis of trehalose is under the enzymatic control of trehalase. The enzyme trehalase is gaining interest in insect physiology as it regulates energy metabolism and glucose generation via trehalose catabolism. The two forms of insect trehalase namely, Tre-1 and Tre-2, are important in energy supply, growth, metamorphosis, stress recovery, chitin synthesis and insect flight. Insect trehalase has not been reviewed in depth and the information available is quite scattered. The present mini review discusses our recent understanding of the regulation, mechanism and biochemical characterization of insect trehalase with respect to its physiological role in vital life functions. We also highlight the molecular and biochemical properties of insect trehalase that makes it amenable to competitive inhibition by most glycosidase inhibitors. Due to its crucial role in carbon metabolism in insects, application of inhibitors against trehalose can form a promising area towards formulating strategies for insect pest control.
海藻糖是一种非还原性二糖，广泛存在于生物界。它是昆虫的主要血糖，作为即时能量来源以及应对非生物胁迫发挥着关键作用。海藻糖的水解受海藻糖酶的酶促控制。海藻糖酶在昆虫生理学中越来越受关注，因为它通过海藻糖分解代谢调节能量代谢和葡萄糖生成。昆虫海藻糖酶的两种形式，即Tre-1和Tre-2，在能量供应、生长、变态、应激恢复、几丁质合成和昆虫飞行中都很重要。昆虫海藻糖酶尚未得到深入综述，现有信息相当分散。本小型综述讨论了我们对昆虫海藻糖酶的调节、机制和生化特性的最新认识，以及它在重要生命功能中的生理作用。我们还强调了昆虫海藻糖酶的分子和生化特性，这些特性使其易于受到大多数糖苷酶抑制剂的竞争性抑制。由于其在昆虫碳代谢中的关键作用，应用海藻糖抑制剂可能成为制定害虫防治策略的一个有前景的领域。
