Molecular characterization of a cDNA from Pseudaletia unipuncta encoding the Manduca sexta allatostatin peptide (Mas-AST)

A 15-residue neuropeptide, Manduca sexta allatostatin (Mas-AST), strongly inhibits juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis in vitro by corpora allata (CA) from Manduca fifth-stadium larvae and adult females as well as Helicoverpa tea adult females (Kramer et al., 1991, Proc, Natl, Acad, Sci (USA) 88, 9458-9462), In contrast, this study found that 1.0 mu M Mas-AST has no JH biosynthesis inhibitory activity in Pseudaletia unipuncta sixth instar larvae or newly-emerged (day 0) adults but inhibited CA of 5-day-old adult females by 60%, From a P. unipuncta brain cDNA library, was isolated a cDNA that encodes a 125 amino acid polypeptide containing the Mas-AST sequence, Within the precursor, Mas-AST is situated at the carboxy terminus and is flanked by different dibasic proteolytic cleavage signals, The Pseudaletia gene specifying the Mas-AST peptide is present as a single copy per haploid genome, Expression of this gene was low in Pseudaletia sixth instar larvae, prepupae and early pupae but was relatively high in late pupae, and day 1 and 3 adults of both sexes, In day 5 adults, the relative transcript level appears to be maintained in females but declines in males, This pattern of Mas-AST expression does not correlate well with the profile of JH biosynthesis in Pseudaletia, which increases during the first 5 days of adult life, suggesting additional or alternative functions for this peptide. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd