Abstract: 【Aim】 Allatostatins play important regulatory roles in insects. The transcription expression patterns of allatostatin-C (AST-C) and prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) genes in different developmental stages of Bombyx mori were compared, and their expression location in the brain was detected to supply important clues for the functional study of AST-C gene in B. mori. 【Methods】 Microarray data were analyzed to compare the developmental expression patterns of AST-C and PTTH genes. RT-PCR was conducted to corroborate the microarray data and analyze the developmental expression pattern of AST-C in the central nervous system. The transcription location of AST-C and PTTH genes in the brain was observed using whole mount in situ hybridization. 【Results】 The results showed that AST-C and PTTH genes shared the similar transcription pattern, and both were expressed in a pair of laterally neurosecretory cells of the brain of the silkworm. 【Conclusion】 AST-C and PTTH genes may be involved in the regulation of metamorphosis through the same transcription expression pattern.

Key words: Bombyx mori, allatostatin-C, transcription, expression pattern, in situ hybridization, temporal and spatial expression pattern