Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Oct 30;109(44):17920-4.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1209632109. Epub 2012 Oct 15.

Peptide toxin glacontryphan-M is present in the wings of the butterfly Hebomoia glaucippe (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Narkhyun Bae  1 , Lin Li, Martin Lödl, Gert Lubec
Affiliations

Peptide toxin glacontryphan-M is present in the wings of the butterfly Hebomoia glaucippe (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Narkhyun Bae et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Protein profiling has revealed the presence of glacontryphan-M, a peptide toxin identified only in the sea snail genus Conus, in the wings of Hebomoia glaucippe (HG). The wings and body of HG were homogenized and the proteins were extracted and analyzed by 2D gel electrophoresis with subsequent in-gel digestion. Posttranslational protein modifications were detected and analyzed by nano-LC-MS/MS. An antibody was generated against glacontryphan-M, and protein extracts from the wings of HG samples from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines were tested by immunoblotting. Glacontryphan-M was unambiguously identified in the wings of HG containing the following posttranslational protein modifications: monoglutamylation at E55, methylation at E53, quinone modification at W61, cyanylation at C56, and amidation of the C terminus at G63. Immunoblotting revealed the presence of the toxin in the wings of HG from all origins, showing a single band for glacontryphan-M in HG samples from Malaysia and Philippines and a double band in HG samples from Indonesia. Intriguingly, sequence analysis indicated that the Conus glacontryphan is identical to that of HG. The toxin may function as a defense against diverse predators, including ants, mantes, spiders, lizards, green frogs, and birds.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of HG wing samples. A representative Coomassie blue-stained gel is shown, indicating the presence of GT. Other proteins identified by gel staining are reported elsewhere (8).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Western blotting of GT using 2DE and 1D immunoblotting. (A) The 2D position of GT is demonstrated by immunoblotting (Upper). The Coomassie-stained gel showing the GT, indicated by the arrowhead, is shown below (Lower). (B) Immunoblotting demonstrates that GT is located in the wings of HG, but not in the body.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Western blotting showing GT immunoreactivity. (A) A control sample of the recombinant protein GT (lane 1) compared with the pattern observed in the wings of HG (lane 2). (B) The immunoblot pattern observed from HG samples of the following origins: Malaysia (lane 1), Philippines (lanes 2 and 3), and Indonesia (lanes 4 and 5). The last sample shows a double band at a higher apparent molecular weight of ∼20 kDa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Eisner T, Eisner M, Siegler M. Secret Weapons: Defenses of insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures. Cambridge, MA; London, UK: Harvard Univ Press; 2005. p. 372.
    1. Matsushima-Hibiya Y, et al. Purification and cloning of pierisin-2, an apoptosis-inducing protein from the cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae. Eur J Biochem. 2000;267(18):5742–5750. - PubMed
    1. Watanabe M, et al. Mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation of DNA by apoptosis-inducing protein, pierisin. Nucleic Acids Res Suppl. 2002;(2, Suppl):243–244. - PubMed
    1. Totsuka Y, et al. Analysis of HPRT and supF mutations caused by pierisin-1, a guanine specific ADP-ribosylating toxin derived from the cabbage butterfly. Chem Res Toxicol. 2003;16(8):945–952. - PubMed
    1. Watanabe M, et al. Developmental stage-specific expression and tissue distribution of pierisin-1, a guanine-specific ADP-ribosylating toxin, in Pieris rapae. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2004;139(2):125–131. - PubMed

Publication types