Structural diversity of adipokinetic hormones in the hyperdiverse coleopteran Cucujiformia

Abstract

Seventeen species of the coleopteran series Cucujiformia are investigated for the presence and sequence of putative adipokinetic hormones (AKHs). Cucujiformia includes species from the major superfamilies, that is, Chrysomeloidea, Curculionoidea, Cucujoidea, and Tenebrionoidea. The clade Phytophaga in which the Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea reside, harbor very detrimental species for agriculture and forestry. Thus, this study aims not only to demonstrate the structural biodiversity of AKHs in these beetle species and possible evolutionary trends but also to determine whether the AKHs from harmful pest species can be used as lead substances for a future putative insecticide that is harmless to beneficial insects. Sequence analysis of AKHs is achieved by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Most of the investigated species contain AKH octapeptides in their corpora cardiaca, although previously published work also found a few decapeptides, which we comment on. The signature and sole AKH in cerambycidae Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea is Peram-CAH-I (pEVNFSPNW amide), which is also found in the majority of chrysomelidae Chrysomeloidea and in the one investigated species of Cucujoidea albeit in a few cases associated with a second AKH which can be either Peram-CAH-II (pELTFTPNW amide), Emppe-AKH (pEVNFTPNW amide), or Micvi-CC (pEINFTPNW amide). The most often encountered AKH in Tenebrionoidea, family Meloidae as well as family Tenebrionidae, is Tenmo-HrTH (pELNFSPNW amide) followed by Pyrap-AKH (pELNFTPNW amide) and a Tenmo-HrTH extended decapeptide (in Meloidae). Finally, we examine AKH sequences from 43 species of cucujiform beetles, including the superfamily Coccinelloidea for a possible lead compound for producing a cucujiform-specific pesticide.

The Adipokinetic Peptides in Diptera: Structure, Function, and Evolutionary Trends

“…This is quite remarkable when considering the diversity and speciesrichness of Diptera. Such order-specificity is at the moment also known from Lepidoptera (60) but not from Coleoptera (59,61) and Orthoptera (13,62). We cannot, at this point, exclude the possibility that future investigations may reveal AKH structures that are common to Diptera and various other orders.…”

Unique Members of the Adipokinetic Hormone Family in Butterflies and Moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera)

“…The basal superfamilies (mentioned above), on the other hand, all contain the octapeptide Peram-CAH-II, or the novel peptide predicted for E. japonica which differs from Peram-CAH-II at position 6 by a Ser instead of a Pro residue and in the chain length (octa-versus decapeptide). Peram-CAH-II is a peptide well-known from blattid cockroaches (order: Blattodea), from certain Caelifera (order: Orthoptera), Heteroptera (order: Hemiptera), and Chrysomeloidea (order: Coleoptera) (Gäde, 2009;Gäde et al, 2019) and recently, amplified and sequenced after data mining the codling moth transcriptome (Garczynski et al, 2019). From the superfamily Yponomeutoidea onward, Supplementary Figure 4D) from Chilo partellus.…”

Comparative analysis of adipokinetic hormones and their receptors in Blattodea reveals novel patterns of gene evolution

“…We also confirm the presence of Manto‐CC in termites, being previously only recorded from the order Mantophasmatodea (Gäde et al, 2005) and also recently verified by mass spectrometry in the termite K. flavicollis (Marco et al, 2022). Another surprising discovery from the current work is that Pyrap‐AKH is also present in cockroaches, where previously it had been found in Hemiptera (Kodrík et al, 2000; Gäde and Marco, 2022), Orthoptera (Caelifera) (Gäde, 2006) and in some beetle species (Gäde et al, 2019).…”

“…Table 1 reveals that the AKH octapeptide, Peram‐CAH‐I, is not pest‐insect specific, being shared by 36 cockroach and termite species. In fact, Peram‐CAH‐I is prevalent also in other insect orders, such as Hemiptera (Gäde and Marco, 2022), Coleoptera (Gäde et al, 2019) and Archaeognatha (Marco et al, 2014) and is, thus, not a suitable lead compound as cross‐activity is likely to occur across a wide spectrum of insects. The remaining 6 octapeptide AKHs so far detected in the Blattodea are also not unique (Gäde, 2009), except for Polae‐HrTH, which is synthesised in the CC of only 2 cockroach species (Table 1).…”