Orcokinins contribute to the regulation of vitellogenin transcription in the cockroach Blattella germanica

ONS SHEILA; XAVIER BELLÉS; JOSÉ LUIS MAESTRO

JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2015 vol. 82 p. 129 - 133

0022-1910

Orkokinins (OK) are neuropeptides that were first identified in crustacean through their myotropic activity. In insects, the OK gene gives rise to two mRNAs coding for two different families of conserved mature neuropeptides: OKA and OKB. Although orcokinins are conserved in many insect species, its physiological role in insects is not fully understood, and only two different activities, prothoracicotropic and regulatory of light entrainment to the circadian clock, have been reported for OKA. Here we report the identification of OKA and OKB precursors in the cockroach Blatella germanica. OKA mRNA was detected in brain, whereas OKB mRNA was detected both in brain and midgut. In vivo silencing of OK precursors suggests the involvement of OK gene, possibly through peptides of the OKB type, in the regulation of vitellogenin expression in the fat body, independently of juvenile hormone action. This is the first time that a function of this kind has been reported for orkokinins.