Juvenile hormone (JH) has crucial roles in insect physiology, including development, reproduction, and polyphenism. JH is synthesized in the corpora allata (CA) from acetyl-CoA through 13 enzymatic steps, which can be divided into the early mevalonate pathway and the late JH branch pathway. Genes for these 13 enzymes have been identified in several insect species, although the three genes for the first three steps in the late pathway are unclear in many insect species. Information about the regulatory mechanism of JH biosynthesis in the CA has been accumulated in previous researches, but the process is not fully understood. In this study, we identified two genes that are expressed highly and selectively in the CA of the silkworm, Bombyx mori (L.) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), through the screening using EST library, DNA microarray, and qRT-PCR analyses. These genes showed developmental expression patterns that correlate well with the fluctuation pattern of JH biosynthetic activity in the CA, suggesting important roles in JH biosynthesis or its regulation.

中文翻译：

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家蚕Bombyx mori（鳞翅目：Bombycidae）中高度和选择性表达的新基因的鉴定

保幼激素 (JH) 在昆虫生理学中具有重要作用，包括发育、繁殖和多色性。JH 是由乙酰辅酶 A 通过 13 个酶促步骤在 corpora allata (CA) 中合成的，可分为早期甲羟戊酸途径和晚期 JH 分支途径。这 13 种酶的基因已经在几种昆虫物种中被鉴定出来，尽管晚期途径中前三个步骤的三个基因在许多昆虫物种中尚不清楚。关于CA中JH生物合成调控机制的信息在以前的研究中已经积累，但该过程尚未完全了解。在这项研究中，我们通过使用 EST 文库、DNA 微阵列筛选，鉴定了两个在家蚕 CA 中高选择性表达的基因，家蚕 (L.) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae)，和 qRT-PCR 分析。这些基因显示出与 CA 中 JH 生物合成活性的波动模式密切相关的发育表达模式，表明在 JH 生物合成或其调节中具有重要作用。