Large numbers of a cockroach that resembled the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), were observed duringwinter 2005Ð2006 in home turf settings inWeslaco, TX, 11 km from theU.S. borderwith northeasternMexico. In June and July 2006, this cockroachwas observed at night on the foliage of soybean,Glycine max (L.)Merr., in numbers often exceeding 50 per m row. Because of its similarity to B. ...

Myers, Aaron J. M.S., Purdue University, May 2015. Identification, description, and activity of proteins in the tergal glands of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.). Major Professors: Gary Bennett and Mike Scharf. German cockroaches are important urban pests that have been linked to asthma and serious allergic reactions in sensitized individuals. In this research project I, (i) ident...

BACKGROUND FoxO proteins are a subgroup of the Forkhead-box family of transcription factors, which function as the main transcriptional effectors of the insulin receptor pathway. This pathway, activated by the binding of insulin or IGFs (or insect insulin-like peptides), promotes the phosphorylation and inactivation of FoxO because of its export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The homolog of...

We report that a major 23-kDa allergen from German cockroach (Blattella germanica) is a glutathione S-transferase (EC 2.5.1.18; GST). Natural B. germanica GST, purified from cockroach body extracts by glutathione affinity chromatography, and recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli using the pET21a vector, showed excellent IgE antibody binding activity. B. germanica GST caused positive...

Development of nymphs and oocyte maturation in adults were examined in Blattella germanica (L.) reared on three commercial diets. Nymphs fed rat food developed significantly faster than nymphs fed two commercial dog foods. Similarly, oocytes matured more quickly in adult females that were raised on rat food than in females raised on dog food. Nymphal development and oocyte maturation were slowe...

Insect metamorphosis is regulated by ecdysteroids, which induce molts, and juvenile hormone (JH), which inhibits metamorphic changes. The molecular action of ecdysteroids has been thoroughly studied, but that of JH is poorly understood, with data currently only being available for holometabolous species, like Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castaneum. We studied the function of Krüppel ho...

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...