Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Subcellular localization of the fatty acyl reductase involved in pheromone biosynthesis in the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)

Hagström, Åsa LU ; Walther, Andreas ; Wendland, Jürgen and Löfstedt, Christer LU (2013) In Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 43(6). p.510-521
Abstract
Sex pheromone components are produced in specialized glands of female moths via well-characterized biosynthetic pathways, where a Fatty Acyl Reductase (FAR) is often essential for producing the specific ratio of the different pheromone components. The subcellular localization and membrane topology of FARs is important for understanding how pheromones are synthesized and exported to the exterior for release. We investigated the subcellular localization of HvFAR from the noctuid moth Heliothis virescens by producing recombinant fusion proteins with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in yeast. A C-terminally tagged construct was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and retained full reductive activity on a broad range of saturated... (More)
Sex pheromone components are produced in specialized glands of female moths via well-characterized biosynthetic pathways, where a Fatty Acyl Reductase (FAR) is often essential for producing the specific ratio of the different pheromone components. The subcellular localization and membrane topology of FARs is important for understanding how pheromones are synthesized and exported to the exterior for release. We investigated the subcellular localization of HvFAR from the noctuid moth Heliothis virescens by producing recombinant fusion proteins with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in yeast. A C-terminally tagged construct was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and retained full reductive activity on a broad range of saturated and unsaturated fatty acyl precursors. In contrast, an N-terminally-tagged construct was poorly expressed in the cytoplasm and was not enzymatically active, indicating that HvFAR requires a free N-terminal for both proper targeting and catalytic activity. A series of truncations of the N-and C-termini of HvFAR was conducted based on in silico-predicted hydrophobic domains and transmembrane regions. The N-terminally truncated protein was found in the cytoplasm and did not retain activity, emphasizing the importance of the N-terminal for FAR function. In addition, the orientation in the membrane of the C-terminus-tagged HvFAR-GFP construct was analyzed using a fluorescence protease protection (FPP) assay, implying that the C-terminal of HvFAR is orientated towards the cytoplasm. These results, together with previous data on the localization of desaturases, confirm the importance of the ER as a subcellular site of pheromone production. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Pheromone, Biosynthesis, Moth, Subcellular, Reductase, FAR
in
Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
volume
43
issue
6
pages
510 - 521
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000319539100003
  • pmid:23537692
  • scopus:84876716836
  • pmid:23537692
ISSN
1879-0240
DOI
10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.03.006
project
The pheromone brewery
Evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone divergence in Lepidoptera
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
683c4fda-669d-4400-b388-76066cd0d463 (old id 3627564)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:52:14
date last changed
2024-03-10 10:19:43
@article{683c4fda-669d-4400-b388-76066cd0d463,
  abstract     = {{Sex pheromone components are produced in specialized glands of female moths via well-characterized biosynthetic pathways, where a Fatty Acyl Reductase (FAR) is often essential for producing the specific ratio of the different pheromone components. The subcellular localization and membrane topology of FARs is important for understanding how pheromones are synthesized and exported to the exterior for release. We investigated the subcellular localization of HvFAR from the noctuid moth <i>Heliothis virescens</i> by producing recombinant fusion proteins with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in yeast. A C-terminally tagged construct was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and retained full reductive activity on a broad range of saturated and unsaturated fatty acyl precursors. In contrast, an N-terminally-tagged construct was poorly expressed in the cytoplasm and was not enzymatically active, indicating that HvFAR requires a free N-terminal for both proper targeting and catalytic activity. A series of truncations of the N-and C-termini of HvFAR was conducted based on in silico-predicted hydrophobic domains and transmembrane regions. The N-terminally truncated protein was found in the cytoplasm and did not retain activity, emphasizing the importance of the N-terminal for FAR function. In addition, the orientation in the membrane of the C-terminus-tagged HvFAR-GFP construct was analyzed using a fluorescence protease protection (FPP) assay, implying that the C-terminal of HvFAR is orientated towards the cytoplasm. These results, together with previous data on the localization of desaturases, confirm the importance of the ER as a subcellular site of pheromone production.}},
  author       = {{Hagström, Åsa and Walther, Andreas and Wendland, Jürgen and Löfstedt, Christer}},
  issn         = {{1879-0240}},
  keywords     = {{Pheromone; Biosynthesis; Moth; Subcellular; Reductase; FAR}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{510--521}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology}},
  title        = {{Subcellular localization of the fatty acyl reductase involved in pheromone biosynthesis in the tobacco budworm, <i>Heliothis virescens</i> (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.03.006}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.03.006}},
  volume       = {{43}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}