›› 2012, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (9): 1014-1021.doi:

• RESEARCH PAPERS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Cloning and expression profiling of the esterase gene AlucEST1 in the green plant bug, Apolygus lucorum (Hemiptera: Miridae)

 SHEN  Chen, GU  Shao-Hua, WU  Hong-Zhen, HAN  Rong, ZHANG  Yong-Jun, GUO  Yu-Yuan   

  • Received:2012-04-16 Revised:2012-09-07 Online:2012-09-20 Published:2012-09-20
  • Contact: ZHANG Yong-Jun E-mail: yjzhang@ippcaas.cn
  • About author:shenchen09@163.com

Abstract: Odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs) can degrade the excess odor molecules so as to prevent olfactory receptors from the sustained stimulation. Esterase is a kind of odorant degrading enzyme, and plays an important role in the process of insect olfactory behavior. In this study, a novel putative ODE gene AlucEST1 (GenBank accession number: JQ715614) from the green plant bug, Apolygus lucorum was cloned by using rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. Sequence analysis showed that AlucEST1 is 1 810 bp in length with the open reading frame of 1 713 bp, and encodes 571 amino acids. The N-terminal hydrophobic region contains a 17 amino acid signal peptide. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Real-time qPCR were conducted to explore the AlucEST1 expression in different tissues of A. lucorum. The results showed that AlucEST1 was expressed in various tissues including antennae, head, thorax, abdomen, legs and wings. AlucEST1 had the highest expression level in thorax and abdomen, and was also abundantly expressed in the antennae. It is so inferred that the gene plays an important role in the degradation of odor molecules and is also involved in a variety of metabolic regulation in A. lucorum.

Key words: Lygus lucorum, odorant degrading enzyme (ODE), esterase, gene cloning, expression profile