THE RELEASE OF ISOPRENOIDS BY LOCUST CORPORA ALLATA IN-VITRO

Corpora allata of the African locust Locusta migratoria, incubated in vitro, biosynthesized together with juvenile hormone III (JM-III), sev eral molecules labelled by both [2-C-14] sodium acetate and L-[methyl- H-3] methionine. By a combination of chromatographic procedures includ ing reverse phase-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), norma l phase HPLC and thin layer chromatography (TLC), four labelled compou nds were separated. They were isoprenoids, as revealed by inhibition o f their synthesis by the hydroxy-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) r eductase inhibitor fluvastatin and restoration by exogenous mevalonola ctone, They could be produced by incubating corpora allata with JH-III , suggesting that they were JH-III metabolites. They were produced by the corpora allata from both males and females and released into the i ncubation medium. Their rate of synthesis changed considerably dependi ng on the sample, and in some cases they were the major isoprenoic pro ducts of the corpora allata. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.