抄録
Peptides of the ENF (Glu-Asn-Phe) family, which occur in the hemolymph of Lepidoptera, were reported to act on the plasmatocytes and heart, cause body paralysis, and inhibit body growth. In this paper we report on yet another, most surprising effect. An ENF peptide isolated from the wild silkmoth, Antheraea yamamai, and named Antya-ParP causes paralysis in the caterpillars but not in the pupae of Bombyx mori. However, adults that emerge from the treated pupae lay diapausing eggs. The embryonic diapause of B. mori is normally induced by the diapause hormone (Bommo-DH), which is produced in pupae from the suboesophageal ganglion. The effect of Antya-ParP is independent of this ganglion, showing that the Antya-ParP action is not mediated by Bommo-DH. The sequence of 23 amino acid residues of Antya-ParP shows no similarity to the Bommo-DH sequence of 24 residues. The mode of action of the two peptides seems to be identical but the threshold concentration of Bommo-DH is up to hundred times lower than that of Antya-ParP.
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