Premium
Regulation of Isoprenoid Pheromone Biosynthesis in Bumblebee Males
Author(s) -
Prchalová Darina,
Buček Aleš,
Brabcová Jana,
Žáček Petr,
Kindl Jiří,
Valterová Irena,
Pichová Iva
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.201500415
Subject(s) - bumblebee , sex pheromone , farnesyl diphosphate synthase , thiolase , bombus terrestris , biosynthesis , pheromone , biology , terpenoid , gene , reductase , atp synthase , biochemistry , enzyme , peroxisome , botany , pollination , pollen , pollinator
Males of the closely related species Bombus terrestris and Bombus lucorum attract conspecific females by completely different marking pheromones. MP of B. terrestris and B. lucorum pheromones contain mainly isoprenoid (ISP) compounds and fatty acid derivatives, respectively. Here, we studied the regulation of ISP biosynthesis in both bumblebees. RNA‐seq and qRT‐PCR analyses indicated that acetoacetyl‐CoA thiolase (AACT), 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA reductase (HMGR), and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) transcripts are abundant in the B. terrestris labial gland. Maximal abundance of these transcripts correlated well with AACT enzymatic activity detected in the LG extracts. In contrast, transcript abundances of AACT, HMGR, and FPPS in B. lucorum were low, and AACT activity was not detected in LGs. These results suggest that transcriptional regulation plays a key role in the control of ISP biosynthetic gene expression and ISP pheromone biosynthesis in bumblebee males.