In vitro translation of diapause mRNA from the fat body of active and diapause larvae of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders).

A diapause associated protein (DAP) (M(r) 103,000) was isolated from the hemolymph and fat body of diapausing fourth instar larvae of the pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella. The protein has been named Pectinophora diapause protein (PDP). The in vitro translation peptide patterns of total RNA from the fat body of actively feeding fourth instar, wandering, prediapause, early diapause, mid-diapause, and late diapause larvae in rabbit reticulocyte lysates showed the presence of poly (A)+ RNA sequence of PDP. The antigen was immunoprecipitated by polyclonal antiserum. It was concluded that the transcription of the PDP gene in the fat body cells started in the late fourth instar larva and that the expression of this gene was regulated at the level of transcription in the fat body of diapausing larvae. Northern hybridization analysis revealed that wandering fourth instar larvae (diapause individuals) maintain a relatively low level of diapause message (mRNA/2.4 kb) in their fat body cells which may be necessary for the induction of diapause.