Release of Ecdysteroid-Phosphates from Egg Yolk Granules and Their Dephosphorylation during Early Embryonic Development in Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Newly laid eggs of many insect species store maternal ecdysteroids as physiologically inactive phosphoric esters. In the silkworm Bombyx mori, we previously reported the presence of a specific enzyme, called ecdysteroid-phosphate phosphatase (EPPase), which catalyzes the dephosphorylation of ecdysteroid-phosphates to increase the amount of free ecdysteroids during early embryonic development. In this study, we demonstrated that (1) EPPase is found in the cytosol of yolk cells, (2) ecdysteroid-phosphates are localized in yolk granules, being bound to the yolk protein vitellin (Vn), and (3) Vn-bound ecdysteroid-phosphates are scarcely hydrolyzed by EPPase, although free ecdysteroid-phosphates are completely hydrolyzed by EPPase. Thus, we investigated the mechanism by which ecdysteroid-phosphates dissociate from the Vn-ecdysteroid-phosphate complex, and indicated that the acidification of yolk granules causes the dissociation of ecdysteroid-phosphates from the Vn-ecdysteroid-phosphate complex and thereby ecdysteroid-phosphates are released from yolk granules into the cytosol. Indeed, the presence of vacuolar-type proton-translocating ATPase in the membrane fraction of yolk granules was also verified by Western blot analysis. Our experiments revealed that Vn functions as a reservoir of maternal ovarian ecdysteroid-phosphates as well as a nutritional source during embryonic development. This is the first report showing the biochemical mechanism by which maternal Vn-bound ecdysteroid-phosphates function during early embryonic development.