In insects, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) synthesizes mevalonate for the production of nonsterol isoprenoids, which are essential for growth and differentiation. To understand the regulation and developmental role of HMG-CoA reductase, we have cloned a full-length HMG-CoA reductase cDNA from the cockroach Blattella germanica. This cDNA clone was isolated using as a p...

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...

Insects do not synthesize cholesterol; the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) produced by HMG-CoA synthase is transformed to mevalonate by HMG-CoA reductase for the production of non-sterol isoprenoids, which are essential for growth and differentiation. To understand the regulation and developmental role of HMG-CoA synthase, we have cloned a 1658 bp cDNA that encompasses the entir...