Molecular cloning of a cysteine proteinase cDNA from the cotton boll wevil anthonomus grandis (coleóptera: curculionidae).

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira-Neto, Osmundo Brilhante de
• Data de Publicação: 2004
• Outros Autores: Batista, João A. N., Rigden, Daniel, Franco, Octávio, Fragoso, Rodrigo, Monnerat, Rose, Grossi-de-Sá, Maria F.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UCB
• Texto Completo: http://twingo.ucb.br:8080/jspui/handle/10869/639; https://repositorio.ucb.br:9443/jspui/handle/123456789/7821
• topic: Cysteine proteinase; Cotton boll weeil; cDNA cloning; Plant defense; Anthonomus grandis

Cotton boll weevil Anthonomus grandis causes severe cotton crop losses in North and South America. This report demonstrates the presence of cysteine proteinase activity in cotton boll weevil, an essential enzyme of protein metabolism for many crop pests. A cysteine proteinase cDNA from A. grandis larvae (Agcys1) was isolated using RT-PCR followed by 5’ and 3’ RACE techniques. The molecular mass and theoretical pI value of the encoded protein were 35.5 kDa and pH 6.0, respectively. Cysteine proteinase inhibitors from different sources were assayed against A. grandis proteinases but, unexpectedly, no inhibitor tested was highly effective. Despite none of the inhibitor tested was effective against A. grandis cysteine proteinases, the molecular and biochemical data of Agcys1 provided a characterization framework of this target enzymes. These data are mostly readily interpreted by proposing a molecular model of Agcys1, which shares the Cys-His-Asn catalytic triad characteristic of this proteinase family. The predicted model will be useful on discovery of novel compounds that could be utilized to inhibit cotton boll weevil cysteine proteinases.