昆虫卵黄原蛋白功能多效性:以蜜蜂为例

Pleiotropic functions of insect vitellogenin:With honey bee Apis mellifera as an example

卵黄原蛋白是昆虫卵黄发生的关键物质。随着RNA干扰技术在功能基因研究中的应用和发展,昆虫卵黄原蛋白特别是蜜蜂卵黄原蛋白被发现具有气候适应、激活卵巢、生殖竞争、劳动力分化、行为构建、延长寿命、转化食物等多种功能,因此又被称为多效性蛋白。许多针对蜜蜂卵黄原蛋白功能和调控机制的假说也相继提出,如"交互抑制假说"、"循环反馈机制"、"卵黄原蛋白转化蛋白胨机制",表明蜜蜂卵黄原蛋白已经由雌虫繁殖过程的一个下游因子上升为高等社会性昆虫主要生命周期的调控子,不仅极大地促进了昆虫社会生物学的研究,对其他具有复杂繁殖行为的昆虫的研究也具有重要的参考意义。针对近年来这一领域相继取得的重大突破,本文以蜜蜂为例介绍了昆虫卵黄原蛋白功能多效性的研究进展,包括卵黄原蛋白的理化性质与分子进化,发生与调控,功能多效性及其研究方法等。

Vitellogenin is the key factor in vitellogenesis in insects.As RNA interference was applied,pleiotropic functions of vitellogenin in honey bee Apis mellifera were discovered,including climate adaption,ovary activation,reproductive competition,labor differentiation,behavior formation,life extension and food convertion.Thus,A.mellifera vitellogenin was also called ＂pleiotropic protein＂.Many theories such as ＂double repressor hypothesis＂,＂feedback loop mechanism＂ and ＂vitellogenin-to-jelly mechanism＂ were proposed to explain the function and regulation of vitellogenin.All these studies suggested that this protein has been upgraded from a downstream factor in female reproductive physiology to a major life cycle regulator in the highly eusocial honeybees.Studies on vitellogenin in honey bee not only promoted the research in insect sociobiology considerably,but also provided a new aspect to study the insects with complex reproductive behavior.Here research progress in pleiotropic functions of insect vitellogenin is reviewed with A.mellifera as an example,including its physicochemical properties,molecular evolution,occurrence,regulation,pleiotropic effects and research methods.