Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 13, 2026

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes
06:19

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes

Published on: May 28, 2007

Characterization of four pupal wing cuticular protein genes of the silkmoth Antheraea polyphemus

M N Kumar1, S Sridhara

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock 79430.

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
|March 1, 1994
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified silkmoth genes coding for pupal cuticle proteins. These genes are specific to wing epidermis during development and show cross-hybridization with other insect species.

Area of Science:

  • * Molecular biology
  • * Developmental biology
  • * Entomology

Background:

  • * The silkmoth Antheraea polyphemus undergoes significant developmental changes, including pupal cuticle deposition.
  • * Understanding the genetic regulation of cuticle formation is crucial for insect development studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To isolate and characterize genes involved in JH-induced second pupal cuticle deposition in Antheraea polyphemus.
  • * To investigate the expression patterns and specificity of these identified genes.

Main Methods:

  • * Subtractive hybridization technique was used to screen a genomic library.
  • * DNA inserts of 13-16 kb were isolated and analyzed.
  • * Antibodies against pupal cuticular proteins were used for precipitation assays.

Main Results:

  • * Three clones were isolated, each containing genes coding for mRNAs expressed in the wing epidermis.
  • * Two clones encoded single mRNAs, while one encoded two mRNAs, all distinct and coding for polypeptides recognized by anti-cuticular protein antibodies.
  • * These genes are activated during pupal development, with transcripts accumulating similarly and showing tissue-specific expression in pupal and adult wings, but not in larvae.

Conclusions:

  • * The identified genes are specifically involved in pupal wing epidermal development and cuticle formation.
  • * Gene expression is regulated in a tissue- and time-specific manner.
  • * These genes exhibit evolutionary conservation, hybridizing with DNA from other silkmoths and insects, though specific cross-hybridization patterns vary.

More Related Videos

Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands09:47

Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands

Published on: January 11, 2011

A Rapid and Efficient Method to Dissect Pupal Wings of Drosophila Suitable for Immunodetections or PCR Assays07:11

A Rapid and Efficient Method to Dissect Pupal Wings of Drosophila Suitable for Immunodetections or PCR Assays

Published on: December 30, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Position-effect Variegation02:32

Position-effect Variegation

In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
Polytene Chromosomes02:04

Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene chromosomes are giant interphase chromosomes with several DNA strands placed side by side. They were discovered in the year 1881 by Balbiani in salivary glands, intestine, muscles, malpighian tubules, and hypoderm of larvae Chironomus plumosus. Hence, these are also called "Salivary gland chromosomes." These are found in insects of the order Diptera and Collembola; in certain organs of mammals; and synergids, antipodes of flowering plants. Polytene chromosomes are also regularly...