Ahn Seung-Joon, Marygold Steven J
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, United States.
FlyBase, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Front Physiol. 2021 Mar 17;12:648481. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.648481. eCollection 2021.
UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are important conjugation enzymes found in all kingdoms of life, catalyzing a sugar conjugation with small lipophilic compounds and playing a crucial role in detoxification and homeostasis. The UGT gene family is defined by a signature motif in the C-terminal domain where the uridine diphosphate (UDP)-sugar donor binds. UGTs have been identified in a number of insect genomes over the last decade and much progress has been achieved in characterizing their expression patterns and molecular functions. Here, we present an update of the complete repertoire of UGT genes in and provide a brief overview of the latest research in this model insect. A total of 35 UGT genes are found in the genome, localized to chromosomes 2 and 3 with a high degree of gene duplications on the chromosome arm 3R. All UGT genes have now been named in FlyBase according to the unified UGT nomenclature guidelines. A phylogenetic analysis of UGT genes shows lineage-specific gene duplications. Analysis of anatomical and induced gene expression patterns demonstrate that some UGT genes are differentially expressed in various tissues or after environmental treatments. Extended searches of UGT orthologs from 18 additional species reveal a diversity of UGT gene numbers and composition. The roles of UGTs identified to date are briefly reviewed, and include xenobiotic metabolism, nicotine resistance, olfaction, cold tolerance, sclerotization, pigmentation, and immunity. Together, the updated genomic information and research overview provided herein will aid further research in this developing field.
尿苷二磷酸糖基转移酶（UGTs）是在所有生命王国中都存在的重要共轭酶，催化糖与小分子亲脂性化合物的共轭反应，并在解毒和体内平衡中发挥关键作用。UGT基因家族由C端结构域中的一个特征基序定义，尿苷二磷酸（UDP）-糖供体结合于此。在过去十年中，已在许多昆虫基因组中鉴定出UGTs，并且在表征它们的表达模式和分子功能方面取得了很大进展。在这里，我们介绍了[昆虫名称]中UGT基因完整库的更新情况，并简要概述了在这种模式昆虫中的最新研究。在[昆虫名称]基因组中总共发现了35个UGT基因，定位于2号和3号染色体，在3R染色体臂上有高度的基因重复。现在，所有[昆虫名称]的UGT基因都已根据统一的UGT命名指南在FlyBase中命名。对UGT基因的系统发育分析显示了谱系特异性的基因重复。对解剖学和诱导基因表达模式的分析表明，一些UGT基因在各种组织中或在环境处理后差异表达。对另外18种[昆虫名称]物种的UGT直系同源物的扩展搜索揭示了UGT基因数量和组成的多样性。简要回顾了迄今为止鉴定出的[昆虫名称]UGTs的作用，包括异源物质代谢、抗尼古丁、嗅觉、耐寒性、硬化、色素沉着和免疫。总之，本文提供的更新的基因组信息和研究概述将有助于在这个不断发展的领域进行进一步研究。
