The vitellogenin gene promoter (VgP) is an essential cis‐regulatory element that plays a significant role in transcription of the vitellogenin (Vg) gene, leading to the production of yolk protein in insects, including lepidopterans. However, the function of VgP is still not clear in Plutella xylostella. Here, we cloned a 5.1 kb DNA fragment of the cis‐regulatory region adjacent to the 5′ end of the Vg gene of P. xylostella (PxVg). We identified two promoter sites in that 5′ upstream sequence of PxVg and performed in vitro analysis of two promoter sequences (PxVgP1, 4.9 kb, and PxVgP2, 2.9 kb) in the embryonic cell line of P. xylostella. PxVgP2 exhibited higher enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression, so PxVgP2 was used for in vivo analysis. Strong EGFP fluorescence was observed in adult females and the fat body of females, with low expression in embryos. Our results suggest that PxVgP is an important stage‐, tissue‐ and sex‐specific endogenous cis‐regulatory element in P. xylostella.

中文翻译：

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小菜蛾卵黄蛋白原基因顺式调控区的功能表征。

该卵黄蛋白原基因启动子（VGP）是一个重要的顺式播放的转录的显著作用调控元件卵黄蛋白原（Vg的）基因，导致昆虫的生产蛋黄的蛋白质，包括鳞翅目。然而，在小菜蛾中，VgP的功能仍不清楚。在这里，我们克隆了一个与小菜蛾（PxVg）Vg基因5'末端相邻的顺式调控区的5.1 kb DNA片段。我们在PxVg的5'上游序列中确定了两个启动子位点，并进行了体外分析小菜蛾胚胎细胞系中两个启动子序列（PxVgP1，4.9 kb和PxVgP2，2.9 kb）。PxVgP2表现出更高的增强的绿色荧光蛋白（EGFP）表达，因此PxVgP2用于体内分析。在成年雌性和雌性脂肪体内观察到强EGFP荧光，在胚胎中低表达。我们的研究结果表明，PxVgP是一个重要的阶段- ，组织和性别特异性的内源性顺在调控元件小菜蛾。