A partial cDNA clone of the vitellogenin gene from the cockroach Blattella germanica has been isolated from a cDNA expression library using an anti-vitellin-vitellogenin antiserum probe. The analysis of cDNA inserts gave a sequence of 2,645 nucleotides corresponding to the 3' region. The deduced amino acid sequence is 825 residues long and is similar to the homologous portion of the vitellogeni...

The cDNAs of two novel P450s (CYP9E2 and CYP4C21) were isolated from German cockroaches, Blattella germanica. Both CYP9E2 and CYP4C21 are typical microsomal P450s and their deduced amino acid sequences share a number of common characteristics with other members of the P450 superfamily. Northern blot analyses using a CYP9E2 or CYP4C21 probe showed that `CYP9E2' and `CYP4C21' were expressed at al...

Four allatostatic neuropeptides were isolated from extracts of the brain of the cockroach Blattella germanica. The primary structures of these peptides were assigned as Leu-Tyr-Asp-Phe-Gly-Leu-NH2 (BLAST-1), Asp-Arg-Leu-Tyr-Ser-Phe-Gly-Leu-NH2 (BLAST-2), Ala-Gly-Ser-Asp-Gly-Arg-Leu-Tyr-Ser-Phe-Gly-Leu-NH2 (BLAST-3) and Ala-Pro-Ser-Ser-Ala-Gln-Arg-Leu-Tyr-Gly-Phe-Gly-Leu-NH2 (BLAST-4). Each of t...

The enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase is crucial to insect development and reproduction, as revealed by the sterilising properties of some specific inhibitors of it. In the present paper, we study the sterilising effects of a number of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L). The inhibitors tested were naringenin, lovastatin, mevasta...

Myosuppressins are a group of 10-residues FMRFamide-related peptides reported in Dictyoptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. Myosuppressins inhibit visceral muscle contractions and, in the cockroach Blattella germanica, inhibit food intake. In B. germanica, the cDNA of leucomyosuppressin (LMS) has been cloned and sequenced. The deduced precursor is 96 amino acids long and contains a singl...

Using polymerase chain reactions (PCR) on cDNA, the DNA sequence of a membrane spanning region of a GABA receptor of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum was identified. The deduced amino acid sequence indicates that its basic structure is similar to the GABA receptor of Rdl type subunits of Drosophila melanogaster and of Blattella germanica. Particularly conserved are M1, M2 and M3 segmen...

BACKGROUND Sensitization to allergens produced by German and American cockroaches is strongly associated with the cause of asthma. Most of the cockroach allergens identified to date have been species specific. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify and sequence cross-reactive cockroach allergens. METHODS A Periplaneta americana cDNA library was screened with IgE antibody from patie...

quantitative real time PCR; REST, relative expression software tool. 31 32 2 SUMMARY 33 Aquaporins (AQPs) are membrane proteins that form water channels, allowing rapid 34 movement of water across cell membranes. AQPs have been reported in species of all 35 life kingdoms and in almost all tissues, but little is known about them in insects. Our 36 purpose was to explore the occurrence of AQPs in...

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae), produces several potent human allergens, one of which, Blattella germanica allergen 1 (Bla g 1), is produced in the midgut and excreted in faeces. We tested with descriptive and experimental approaches the hypothesis that Bla g 1 production is related to food intake in adult males and females of the German cockroa...