0000000000707121
AUTHOR
Stéphane Rivière
Molecular characterization of Lma-p54, a new epicuticular surface protein in the cockroach Leucophaea maderae (Dictyoptera, oxyhaloinae)
0965-1748 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; The epicuticular surface protein Lma-p54 is imbedded in the "cuticular waxes" which cover the abdominal surface of the adult Leucophaea maderae. Natural Lma-p54 was purified and the complete cDNA sequence was determined by RT-PCR using primers based on Edman degradation fragments. Northern blot and in situ hybridization analyses showed that Lma-p54 was expressed in the adult abdominal epidermis and in the chemical sense organs of both sexes. Sequence alignment indicates that Lma-p54 is closely related to aspartic proteases (EC 3.4.23). However, there are critical amino acid substitutions at the level of the active site and,…
The crystal structure of a cockroach pheromone-binding protein suggests a new ligand binding and release mechanism.
Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) are small helical proteins found in sensorial organs, particularly in the antennae, of moth and other insect species. They were proposed to solubilize and carry the hydrophobic pheromonal compounds through the antennal lymph to receptors, participating thus in the peri-receptor events of signal transduction. The x-ray structure of Bombyx mori PBP (BmorPBP), from male antennae, revealed a six-helix fold forming a cavity that contains the pheromone bombykol. We have identified a PBP (LmaPBP) from the cockroach Leucophaea maderae in the antennae of the females, the gender attracted by pheromones in this species. Here we report the crystal structure of LmaPBP a…
A pheromone-binding protein from the cockroach Leucophaea maderae: cloning, expression and pheromone binding
0264-6021 (Print) Journal Article; Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to transport volatile compounds from air to their receptors through the sensillary lymph. In this protein family, the subgroup of pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) is specifically tuned to the perception of the sexual pheromone. To date, the description of OBPs has been restricted to Endopterygota and Paraneoptera. Their expression in Orthopteroid has been hypothesized, but no evidence of OBP has been produced in this assemblage to date. In the present study, we describe the first OBP from a Dictyopteran insect that belongs to the cockroach Leucophaea maderae. The PBP of L. maderae (PBPLma) shares all the hallmar…
Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of a pheromone-binding protein from the cockroachLeucophaea maderae
Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) are small helical proteins (13-18 kDa) present in various sensory organs of moths and other insect species. An antennal protein from the cockroach Leucophaea maderae (LmaPBP) has been found to share all the hallmarks of the PBP family and is expressed specifically in the female adult antennae, the gender that perceives the sex pheromone. Here, the crystallization of LmaPBP expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli periplasm is reported. Crystals of LmaPBP were obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method using a nanodrop-dispensing robot. The protein crystallizes in two different crystal forms. Form 1 belongs to space group P1, with uni…