Vanden Broeck J, Chiou S J, Schoofs L, Hamdaoui A, Vandenbussche F, Simonet G, Wataleb S, De Loof A
Laboratory for Developmental Physiology and Molecular Biology, Leuven, Belgium.
Eur J Biochem. 1998 May 15;254(1):90-5. doi: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.1998.2540090.x.
This study describes the cloning of two cDNAs encoding three serine-protease-inhibiting peptides, SGPI I, II and III, which were recently identified from ovarian extracts of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. The first cDNA codes for the precursor polypeptides of SGPI I and SGPI II; the second encodes only a single inhibitor, SGPI III. Northern-blot analysis revealed an approximate length of 0.8 kb for SGPI-I/II mRNA and 0.6 kb for SGPI-III mRNA. The transcripts are present in several locust tissues, but they could not be detected in the midgut. The gene for SGPI-I/II is abundantly transcribed during all larval and adult stages, whereas SGPI-III mRNA is mainly present in adults. Northern-blot hybridization also revealed important changes in the SGPI-mRNA content during the molting cycle and during the adult reproductive cycle. Moreover, a differential hormonal control was observed in adult females which had been treated with precocene, juvenile hormone or ecdysone.
