Characterization of a juvenile hormone-regulated chymotrypsin-like serine protease gene in Aedes aegypti mosquito.

ABSTRACT: After female mosquitoes ingest blood from vertebrate hosts, exopeptidases and endopeptidases are required for digesting blood proteins in the midgut into amino acids, which female mosquitoes use to build yolk proteins. These proteases are not always present in the midgut, and their diverse expression patterns suggest that production of these enzymes is highly regulated in order to meet specific physiological demands at various stages. Here we report identification of a serine-type protease, JHA15, in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. This protein shares high sequence homology with chymotrypsins, and indeed exhibits specific chymotrypsin enzymatic activity. The JHA15 gene is expressed primarily in the midgut of adult female mosquitoes. Our results indicate that its transcription is a

SUBMITTER: Bian G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2253661 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature