Molecular mechanisms underlying PBAN signaling in the silkmoth Bombyx mori

Abstract

Pheromone biosynthesis in the silkmoth Bombyx mori is under the control of the neurohormone pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) and is triggered upon PBAN binding to its cognate PBAN receptor on the pheromone gland cells of female moths. Using fluorescent Ca(2+) imaging techniques with isolated pheromone glands, we have successfully demonstrated that PBAN specifically evokes an influx of extracellular Ca(2+). Furthermore, results from experiments designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying PBAN signaling indicate that B. mori utilizes the canonical store-operated channel-activation pathway and that the influx of extracellular Ca(2+) accelerates both lipolysis and fatty acyl reduction through a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cascade for bombykol production.