Isolation and characterization of CRF-related diuretic hormones from the whitelined sphinx moth Hyles lineata

We have isolated and characterized two diuretic hormones (DH), Hylli-DH41 a nd Hylli-DH30, from extracts of whole heads of the lepidopteran Hyles linea ta. We monitored the isolation by measuring the ability of fractions to aff ect levels of cyclic AMP production by Malpighian tubules of Manduca sexta maintained in vitro. These DH are related to a family of vertebrate neurope ptides which includes sauvagine, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and urotensin I. Both Hylli-DH41 (RMPSLSIDLPMSVLRQKLSLE KERKVQALRAAANRNFLNDI-NH 2) and Hylli-DH30 (SFSVNPAVEILQHRYMEKVAQNNRNFLNRV-NH2) show extremely high similarity with two DH from the tobacco hornworm M. sexta. This is not surp rising because both H. lineata and M. sexta are sphingid moths. The discove ry of these DH provides a third example of two CRF-related DH occurring in one insect species. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.