Gäde Gerd, König Simone, Marco Heather G
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
IZKFCore Unit Proteomics, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Arch Insect Biochem Physiol. 2025 Mar;118(3):e70049. doi: 10.1002/arch.70049.
Beetles are the largest animal group, in general. Phylogenetically, beetles belong to the order Coleoptera, the most species-rich of the Insecta. Coleoptera is divided into four suborders: Polyphaga, Adephaga, Archostemata, and Myxophaga. Specimens from the latter two are difficult to obtain, hence, we have focused our research into the adipokinetic hormone (AKH) peptide family on the former two suborders. Data on the Adephaga were concluded in 2017. The "core Polyphaga" consists of three series: Elateriformia, Staphyliniformia, and Cucujiformia; the latter was concluded in 2019. Here, we report on the AKH sequence(s) of 23 species of beetles from 4 families of Elateriformia, namely, the Buprestidae, Cantharidae, Elateridae, and Lampyridae; and 4 families of Staphyliniformia, namely, the Hydrophilidae, Silphidae, Lucanidae, and Scarabaeidae. Sequence elucidation by mass spectrometry or Edman degradation revealed 13 octapeptides: 5 are novel, 12 are beetle-specific and Schgr-AKH-II is produced in the basal Polyphaga (Elateriformia, in Hydrophilididae and Silphidae). Since Schgr-AKH-II is also found in Adephaga, this confirms the ancestral AKH of Coleoptera. The first change in sequence is recorded in Staphylinoidea with two different residues, notably, the switch from Phe to Tyr. Duplication of AKH peptides is first seen in Lucanidae, as well as the appearance of atypical AKH sequences, such as Phe, Met, Leu, or Phe encountered in the Scarabaeoidea. The vast majority of the pest beetles do not have beetle-specific AKHs or share the same AKH as nonharmful beetles. Ideas for finding a lead compound for green insecticides are discussed.
一般来说，甲虫是最大的动物类群。从系统发育角度看，甲虫属于鞘翅目，是昆虫纲中物种最为丰富的目。鞘翅目分为四个亚目：多食亚目、肉食亚目、原鞘亚目和藻食亚目。从后两个亚目获取标本很困难，因此，我们将对脂肪动激素（AKH）肽家族的研究集中在前两个亚目上。关于肉食亚目的数据在2017年已整理完毕。“核心多食亚目”由三个系列组成：叩头虫形类、隐翅虫形类和扁甲形类；后者于2019年整理完毕。在此，我们报告了来自叩头虫形类4个科（即吉丁甲科、花萤科、叩头虫科和萤科）以及隐翅虫形类4个科（即水龟甲科、埋葬甲科、锹甲科和金龟科）的23种甲虫的AKH序列。通过质谱分析或埃德曼降解法进行序列解析，共发现13种八肽：其中5种是新发现的，12种是甲虫特有的，并且在基部多食亚目（叩头虫形类中的水龟甲科和埋葬甲科）中产生了Schgr - AKH - II。由于在肉食亚目中也发现了Schgr - AKH - II，这证实了鞘翅目AKH的祖先特征。在隐翅虫总科中记录到序列的首次变化，有两个不同的残基，具体而言，是从苯丙氨酸（Phe）转变为酪氨酸（Tyr）。AKH肽的重复首次出现在锹甲科中，同时也出现了非典型的AKH序列，比如在金龟总科中遇到的苯丙氨酸、甲硫氨酸、亮氨酸或苯丙氨酸序列。绝大多数害虫甲虫没有甲虫特有的AKH，或者与无害甲虫共享相同的AKH。文中还讨论了寻找绿色杀虫剂先导化合物的思路。
