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A putative binding protein for lipophilic substances related to butterfly oviposition
Author(s) -
Tsuchihara Kazuko,
Ueno Kohei,
Yamanaka Akira,
Isono Kunio,
Endo Katsuhiko,
Nishida Ritsuo,
Yoshihara Kazuo,
Tokunaga Fumio
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(00)01838-x
Subject(s) - biology , pieris brassicae , butterfly , lipocalin , western blot , protein family , aristolochia , lepidoptera genitalia , botany , biochemistry , ecology , gene
A unique protein of 23 kDa (Jf23) was found in the tarsus of the female swallowtail butterfly, Atrophaneura alcinous . Jf23 has 38% identity with a bilin‐binding protein, which was found in the cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae , and which has two consensus sequences in common with the members of the lipocalin family, suggesting that it is a binding protein for lipophilic ligands. Western blot analysis showed that Jf23 was expressed only in the female, and not in the male. Electrophysiological response of the female tarsi was stimulated by methanolic extract of their host plant, Dutchman's pipe ( Aristolochia debilis ). The stimulated response was depressed by the presence of Jf23 antiserum. These results suggest that Jf23 is one of the chemosensory signaling proteins, which plays one or more roles in female butterfly oviposition.