Arginine kinase: Differentiation of gene expression and protein activity in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

Transcription profiling of guanine nucleotide binding proteins during developmental regulation and pesticide response in Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…A previous study showed that arginine kinase, a primary enzyme in cell metabolism and adenosine 5′-triphosphate-consuming processes, was differentially expressed among larvae and adults, queens and workers, and among female alates and queens. 12 The results showed that the SiGNBP gene is not only differentially expressed among eggs, larvae, adults, workers, female alates, and queens, but it is also differentially expressed within the larval (ie, first instar, second instar, third instar, and fourth instar), pupal (early and late pupae), as well as the worker (early and late workers) stages. The relatively low levels of SiGNBP expression in older workers and female alates suggest that the SiGNBP gene may play a role in the attenuation of gene expression.…”

“…8,9 As in all organisms, the development of ants requires multigene regulation, which is affected by environmental conditions such as temperature, radiation, and challenges from pesticides and parasites. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] However, the role of GNBPs in Solenopsis invicta Buren development has never been examined. In this study, the complete cDNA of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein gene β-subunit (SiGNBP) was cloned and sequenced from S. invicta workers, and its transcriptional expression related to the developmental stages and pesticide response was examined.…”

Isolation of arginine kinase from Apis cerana cerana and its possible involvement in response to adverse stress

“…The expression of the AK gene in the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta and its AK protein activity were developmentally and tissue specifically regulated. This regulation was dependent on the different demands for energy-consumption and production in the different castes and was linked to their different labor and physiological activities in the colonies (Wang et al 2009). …”

Identification and characterization of two arginine kinases from the parasitic insect Ctenocephalides felis

“…In arthropods, phospho-L-arginine appears to serve as the predominant phosphagen, that is a substrate of the corresponding arginine kinases (Lohmann, 1935;Lewis and Fowler, 1962;Virden et al, 1965;Blethen, 1972;Strong and Ellington, 1995). Arginine kinase has been studied in a number of insect groups, including muscid flies (Lewis and Fowler, 1962;Sacktor and Hurlbut, 1966;Rockstein and Kumar 1972;Wallimann and Eppenberger, 1973;Wyss et al, 1995), locusts (Newsholme et al, 1978;Schneider et al, 1989;Li et al, 2006), lepidopterans (Rosenthal et al, 1977;Chamberlin, 1997;Binder et al, 2001), hymenopterans (Kucharski and Maleszka, 1998;Wang et al, 2009), cockroaches and beetles (Tanaka et al, 2007). The majority of the studies concluded the presence of a single type of enzyme with approximately 40 000 Da molecular mass, that is presumably encoded by a single copy gene.…”

“…Due to its assumed prominent role in energy metabolism and its specific occurrence in invertebrates, arginine kinase has been proposed as a novel target structure for innovative insecticides to combat insect pest species Wang et al, 2009;Wu et al, 2009), and this enzyme has also attracted our interest as a potential chemotherapeutic target for treatment of ectoparasite infection in veterinary animal species.…”