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Glycosyltransferases: the multifaceted enzymatic regulator in insects
Author(s) -
Nagare M.,
Ayachit M.,
Agnihotri A.,
Schwab W.,
Joshi R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1111/imb.12686
Subject(s) - biology , glycosyltransferase , effector , biochemistry , enzyme , insect , microbiology and biotechnology , botany
Glycosyltransferases (GTs) catalyse the reaction of glyco‐conjugation of various biomolecules by transferring the saccharide moieties from an activated nucleotide sugar to nucleophilic glycosyl acceptor. In insects, GTs show diverse temporal and site‐specific expression patterns and thus play significant roles in forming the complex biomolecular structures that are necessary for insect survival, growth and development. Several insects exhibit GT‐mediated detoxification as a key defence strategy against plant allelochemicals and xenobiotic compounds, as well as a mechanism for pesticide cross‐resistance. Also, these enzymes act as crucial effectors and modulators in various developmental processes of insects such as eye development, UV shielding, cuticle formation, epithelial development and other specialized functions. Furthermore, many of the known insect GTs have been shown to play a fundamental role in other physiological processes like body pigmentation, cuticular tanning, chemosensation and stress response. This review provides a detailed overview of the multifaceted functionality of insect GTs and summarizes numerous case studies associated with it.