Pectinases from Sphenophorus levis Vaurie, 1978 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): putative accessory digestive enzymes.

ABSTRACT: The cell wall in plants offers protection against invading organisms and is mainly composed of the polysaccharides pectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, which can be degraded by plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs). Such enzymes are often synthesized by free living microorganisms or endosymbionts that live in the gut of some animals, including certain phytophagous insects. Thus, the ability of an insect to degrade the cell wall was once thought to be related to endosymbiont enzyme activity. However, recent studies have revealed that some phytophagous insects are able to synthesize their own PCWDEs by endogenous genes, although questions regarding the origin of these genes remain unclear. This study describes two pectinases from the sugarcane weevil, Sphenophorus levis Vaurie, 1978 (S

SUBMITTER: Evangelista DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4535137 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature