SERICOTROPIN: AN INSECT NEUROHORMONAL FACTOR AFFECTING RNA TRANSCRIPTION

Sericotropin gene of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella, which is expressed in the brain, encodes for 133 amino acids of which 16 were identified as the signal peptide. Brain extracts of tested lepidopterans and a beetle, but not several other insects, contain a protein of about 10 kDa that is recognized by an anti-sericotropin antiserum. Partially purified Galleria brain extracts and a synthetic peptide comprising the first 18 amino acids of the sericotropin N-terminus stimulate RNA synthesis in explanted silk glands.