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Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the Japanese fireflies Luciola lateralis and Luciola cruciata
Author(s) -
Ohtsuki Hajime,
Yokoyama Jun,
Ohba Nobuyoshi,
Ohmiya Yoshihiro,
Kawata Masakado
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
archives of insect biochemistry and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.576
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1520-6327
pISSN - 0739-4462
DOI - 10.1002/arch.20275
Subject(s) - lampyridae , biology , nitric oxide synthase , zoology , firefly protocol , insect , complementary dna , phylogenetic tree , botany , enzyme , biochemistry , gene
Species‐specific flash patterns in firefly species are important for the investigation of the evolution of Lampyridae. Since nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is one of the key enzymes controlling flash patterns, we determined the cDNA sequences of NOS in the Japanese fireflies Luciola lateralis and L. cruciata . The identity of the NOS sequences was very high between these 2 species. Firefly NOS also exhibited a high identity with those of other insect species, and the cofactor‐binding domains were particularly well conserved. Many negatively selected sites were detected throughout the NOS sequences; however, no positive selection was detected. The phylogenetic relationship of insect NOS was different from that of the general classification system, although the lineages corresponded to the major recognized taxonomic groups. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.