Toxins 2015, 7(12), 5098-5113; doi:10.3390/toxins7124867
A Venom Gland Extracellular Chitin-Binding-Like Protein from Pupal Endoparasitoid Wasps, Pteromalus Puparum, Selectively Binds Chitin
1
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
2
The College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
3
Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Columbia, MO 65203, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Richard Lewis
Received: 13 October 2015 / Revised: 12 November 2015 / Accepted: 17 November 2015 / Published: 30 November 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arthropod Venoms)
Abstract
Chitin-binding proteins (CBPs) are present in many species and they act in a variety of biological processes. We analyzed a Pteromalus puparum venom apparatus proteome and transcriptome and identified a partial gene encoding a possible CBP. Here, we report cloning a full-length cDNA of a sequence encoding a chitin-binding-like protein (PpCBP) from P. puparum, a pupal endoparasitoid of Pieris rapae. The cDNA encoded a 96-amino-acid protein, including a secretory signal peptide and a chitin-binding peritrophin-A domain. Phylogenetic analysis of chitin binding domains (CBDs) of cuticle proteins and peritrophic matrix proteins in selected insects revealed that the CBD of PpCBP clustered with the CBD of Nasonia vitripennis. The PpCBP is specifically expressed in the venom apparatus of P. puparum, mostly in the venom gland. PpCBP expression was highest at day one after adult eclosion and much lower for the following five days. We produced a recombinant PpCBP and binding assays showed the recombinant protein selectively binds chitin but not cellulose in vitro. We infer that PpCBP serves a structural role in the venom reservoir, or may be injected into the host to help wound healing of the host exoskeleton. View Full-TextKeywords:
parasitoid; chitin binding protein; venom apparatus; venom proteins
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhu, Y.; Ye, X.-H.; Liu, Y.; Yan, Z.-C.; Stanley, D.; Ye, G.-Y.; Fang, Q. A Venom Gland Extracellular Chitin-Binding-Like Protein from Pupal Endoparasitoid Wasps, Pteromalus Puparum, Selectively Binds Chitin. Toxins 2015, 7, 5098-5113.
