In order to understand the roles of the epoxide hydrolases (EHs) in xenobiotic biotransformation in insects, we examined the induction of EHs by exogenous compounds in Drosophila melanogaster third instar larvae. Among the chemicals tested, clofibrate, a phenoxyacetate hypolipidermics drug, increased EH activity towards cis-stilbene oxide approximately twofold in larval whole-body homogenates. ...

Ribonuclease protection assays were used to measure changes in allatal transcript levels of the CYP4C7 gene which encodes a cytochrome P450 terpenoid omega-hydroxylase thought to play a role in the metabolism of JH and its precursors. Denervation of the corpora allata does not affect the pattern of expression of the CYP4C7 gene. Transplantation experiments show that CYP4C7 mRNA levels are depen...

Primer pheromones are thought to act in a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates but only a few have been chemically identified. We report that a blend of ten fatty-acid esters found on the cuticles of honeybee larvae, already known as a kairomone, releaser pheromone and primer pheromone, also act as a primer pheromone in the regulation of division of labour among adult workers. Bees in colon...

Four neuropeptides that inhibit juvenile hormone synthesis by the corpora allata have been isolated from brains of the virgin female cockroach Diploptera punctata. These allatostatins are 8-13 amino acids long, are amidated, and show sequence similarity, including a 3-amino acid sequence at the C-terminal end that is common to all four peptides. The peptide sequences are as follows: allatostati...

Stable expression and purification of Juvenile Hormone Binding Protein from Drosophila melanogaster Schneider line-2 cells Studies 011 the hemolymph Juvenile Hormone Binding Protein (hJHBP) and Juvenile Hormone (JH) interaction have been considerably limited by the availability of pure hJHBP. An expression vector was created by cloning the recombinant JHBP (rJHBP) gene into pMT/BiPN5-HisB vecto...

The absolute configuration of the predominant Cecropia hormone, methyl 12,14-dihomojuvenate, has been determined to be methyl (E,E)-(10R,11S)-(+)-10,11-epoxy-7-ethyl-3,11-dimethyl-2, 6-tridecadienoate (I). The less abundant hormone, methyl 12-homojuvenate, can be presumed by analogy to have the corresponding 3,7,11-trimethyldienoate structure (II). The assignment has been established with micro...

Juvenile hormone from the hemolymph of adult worker honey bees of known age and behavioral status was extracted and analyzed by two different radioimmunoassays in two independent laboratories. The assays are different in hapten attachment, radiolabeled tracer, and the method by which bound and unbound hormone are separated. Despite these differences in the methods, hormone determinations were i...