Quantity Does Matter. Juvenile Hormone and the Onset of Vitellogenesis in the German Cockroach J
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Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 33 (2003) 1219–1225 www.elsevier.com/locate/ibmb Quantity does matter. Juvenile hormone and the onset of vitellogenesis in the German cockroach J. Cruz, D. Martı´n, N. Pascual, J.L. Maestro, M.D. Piulachs, X. Belle´s ∗ Department of Physiology and Molecular Biodiversity, Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona, Spain Received 7 February 2003; received in revised form 18 May 2003; accepted 28 June 2003 Abstract We aimed to elucidate why cockroaches do not produce vitellogenin in immature stages, by studying the appearance of vitellog- enin mRNA in larvae of Blattella germanica. Treatment of female larvae in any of the last three instars with 1 µg of juvenile hormone (JH) III induces vitellogenin gene transcription, which indicates that the fat body is competent to transcribe vitellogenin at least from the antepenultimate instar larvae. In untreated females, vitellogenin production starts on day 1 after the imaginal molt, when corpora allata begin to synthesize JH III at rates doubling the maximal of larval stages. This coincidence suggests that the female reaches the threshold of JH production necessary to induce vitellogenin synthesis on day 1 of adult life. These data lead to postulate that larvae do not synthesize vitellogenin simply because they do not produce enough JH, not because their fat body is incompetent. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Vitellogenin; Juvenile hormone; German cockroach; Blattella germanica; Reproduction; Metamorphosis; Ecdysteroids 1. Introduction most insect groups, which start vitellogenesis after the imaginal molt. Why, then, do immature insects not pro- In practically all insect species, vitellogenesis and duce vitellogenin? It is because the genes coding for vit- oocyte growth are restricted to the adult stage. In ellogenin cannot be expressed in larvae but are switched addition to rather exceptional cases of paedogenesis and on at metamorphosis? Or is it because the levels of the neoteny (see Sehnal et al., 1996), other exceptions are vitellogenic hormone, JH, are below the threshold of found in the female larvae of Ephemeropterans, which induction of vitellogenin gene expression? are able to mature eggs before metamorphosis (Sehnal Recent studies on insect metamorphosis, mostly con- et al., 1996). Also, several species of moths initiate vitel- ducted at morphological and structural levels but also logenesis in the last larval instar (as in the gypsy moth, dealing with functional aspects, have focused on holo- Lymantria dispar) or in prepupal or early pupal stages metabolous species, like the fruit-fly Drosophila mel- (as in the silkmoths Hyalophora cecropia and Bombyx anogaster, the Sphingid moth Manduca sexta and the mori, respectively) (Wyatt and Davey, 1996; Belle´s, in silkmoth B. mori (see Gilbert et al., 1996). However, press). Selective pressures derived from the short adult less modified, hemimetabolous insects may afford more life of these species have led to a subtle interplay suitable models to answer the above questions, given between juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids, which their relative simplicity compared with the holometabol- has allowed them to mature oocytes just when the female ous species. Among the hemimetabolous insects, cock- reaches the adult stage. However, this does not occur in roaches have been favorite experimental animals, especially regarding the onset of vitellogenesis, a process that has been considered as a convenient model of func- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-93-4006124; fax: +34-93- tional metamorphosis (Kunkel, 1981). 2045904. Kunkel (1981) was able to induce vitellogenin pro- E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Belle´s). duction (measured in terms of protein by 0965-1748/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2003.06.004 1220 J. Cruz et al. / Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 33 (2003) 1219–1225 immunoelectrophoresis) in larvae of Blattella germanica 2.3. Incubation of corpora allata and quantification of treated with JH III, and concluded that the fat body of juvenile hormone synthesis the German cockroach could be a useful model to exam- ine the development of a JH response. We have cloned Individual corpora cardiaca–corpora allata complexes the vitellogenin cDNA in B. germanica (Mart´ın et al., were incubated in 100 µl of TC199 medium (Sigma), 1998; Comas et al., 2000), which has allowed us to re- containing L-methionine (0.1 mM), Hank’s salts, Hepes explore the subject by measuring vitellogenin expression (20 mM) plus Ficoll (20 mg/ml), to which L-[3H-methyl] in terms of mRNA. With these tools, we have re- methionine (Amersham) had been added to achieve a assessed whether the production of vitellogenin exclus- final specific activity of 7.4 Gbq/mmol. JH III, which is ively in the adult derives from a metamorphic event the native JH in the adult female of B. germanica involving a change in the adult fat body to perform a (Camps et al., 1987), was quantified in standard 3 h incu- new function or a change in the adult corpora allata bation periods. At the end of the incubation period, JH allowing the production of the high amounts of JH III synthesis was determined by organic solvent extrac- necessary to induce the expression of the vitellogenin tion and thin layer chromatography, following Piulachs gene. Our results rather point to the second possibility. and Couillaud (1992). 2.4. Treatments with juvenile hormone 2. Materials and methods Larvae of different ages or freshly ecdysed adult females of B. germanica were topically treated with JH III (Sigma) at doses of 0.01, 0.1 or 1 µg per animal, in 2.1. Insects 1 µl of acetone. Controls received the same volume of acetone. Vitellogenin mRNA levels were studied 6 or 10 Specimens of B. germanica were obtained from a col- h after JH treatment. ony reared in the dark at 30 ± 1 °C and 60–70% r.h. Freshly ecdysed fifth or sixth instar larvae or adult 2.5. Estimation of vitellogenin mRNA levels with RT- females were selected under red light and used at the PCR and Southern blot appropriate ages. All dissections and tissue sampling were carried out on carbon dioxide-anaesthetized speci- Total RNA was isolated from fat bodies, brains, ovar- mens. In the conditions stated above, the first repro- ies and midguts dissected from four to six females at ductive cycle of the female lasts 7 days, after which various stages using the GenElute Mammalian Total takes place choriogenesis and oviposition. RNA kit (Sigma). One microgram of each RNA prep- aration was DNAse treated (Promega) and reverse tran- scribed with Superscript II reverse transcriptase 2.2. Quantification of ecdysteroid concentration in the (Invitrogen) and random hexamers (Promega). For vitel- hemolymph logenin detection, these cDNA samples were subjected to PCR amplification with 47 cycles at 94 °C (30 s), Hemolymph (2–5 µl) samples were extracted with 60 °C (30 s) and 72 °C (1 min). As a reference, the methanol (200 µl) and then centrifuged at 13,000 g for samples of the same cDNAs were subjected to 35 cycles 5 min. The pellet was resuspended in methanol (200 µl) of PCR with specific primers to the hydroxymethyl-glut- and centrifugation was repeated. The supernatants were aryl Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase and 21 cycles pooled, and stored at Ϫ20 °C. Ecdysteroids were quant- of PCR for the ribosomal 16S subunit. In all cases, PCR ified by ELISA, following the procedure described by procedures were carried out within the linear range of Porcheron et al. (1989), and adapted to B. germanica amplification. Southern blot probes were generated by by Pascual et al. (1992) and Roman˜a´ et al. (1995). 20- PCR with the same primer pair using plasmid DNA con- Hydroxyecdysone (Sigma) and 20-hydroxyecdysone– taining the corresponding cDNA clone as a template. acetylcholinesterase (Cayman) were used as standard The primers for vitellogenin were, forward: 5Ј- and enzymatic tracer, respectively. The antiserum (AS TGAAATGCGAAGGAAAGCCAA-3Ј, reverse: 5Ј- 4919, supplied by Prof. P. Porcheron), was used at a CCTGTCAAGACCTGAAATGTAT-3Ј; for HMG-CoA dilution of 1/50,000. Absorbances were read at 450 nm reductase, forward: 5Ј-CACTTGCAACAACTGAG using a Multiscan Plus II Spectrophotometer GGC-3Ј, reverse: 5Ј-GAAGGCATGGTGCAGGATAC- (Labsystems). The ecdysteroid antiserum used has the 3Ј; and for 16S, forward: 5Ј-TTACGCTGTTATCCC same affinity for ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone TTA-3Ј, reverse: 5Ј-CGCCTGTTTATCAAAAACAT- (Porcheron et al., 1989), but since the standard curve 3Ј. The probes were labeled with fluorescein using the was obtained with the latter compound, results are Gene Images random prime labeling module (Amersham expressed in pg of 20-hydroxyecdysone equivalents. Biosciences). RT-PCR followed by Southern blotting of J. Cruz et al. / Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 33 (2003) 1219–1225 1221 total RNA without reverse transcription did not result in amplification, indicating that there was no genomic con- tamination. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Hemolymph ecdysteroids during the two last larval instars and the adult stage The concentration of ecdysteroids in the hemolymph was measured in females in the penultimate (fifth) and last (sixth) larval instars, and compared with that reported in the adult during the first gonadotrophic cycle by Roman˜a´ et al. (1995) (Fig. 1A). In larvae, the concen- tration of ecdysteroids was maximal approximately 3 days before the corresponding molt. The peak concen- tration was higher in the penultimate than in the last lar- val instar, but the secretion of ecdysteroids was more prolonged in the latter. This pattern is typical of a num- ber of hemimetabolous species, like the cockroach Nau- phoeta cinerea (Lanzrein et al., 1985), the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus (Gerstenlauer and Hoffmann, 1995) and the locust Schistocerca gregaria (Tawfik et al., 1996). In hemimetabolous species, the more prolonged secretion of ecdysteroids, or the occurrence of a double peak of ecdysteroids, prior to the imaginal molt has been related to the commitment to metamorphosis (Nijhout, 1994).