Molecular basis for the insensitivity of the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) to cardiac glycosides
- 17 December 1992
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in FEBS Letters
- Vol. 314 (3) , 477-480
- https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-5793(92)81530-y
Abstract
The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) sequesters cardiac glycosides for its chemical defence against predators. Larvae and adults of this butterfly are insensitive towards dietary cardiac glycosides, whereas other Lepidoptera, such as Manduca sexta and Creatonotos transiens are sensitive and intoxicated by ouabain. Ouabain inhibits the Na+,K(+)-ATPase by binding to its alpha-subunit. We have amplified and cloned the DNA sequence encoding the respective ouabain binding site. Instead of the amino acid asparagine at position 122 in ouabain-sensitive insects, the Monarch has a histidine in the putative ouabain binding site, which consists of about 12 amino acids. This change may explain the ouabain insensitivity.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in endangered fern Adiantum reniforme var. sinenseConservation Genetics, 2006
- Cardenolide content, emetic potency, and thin-layer chromatography profiles of monarch butterflies,Danaus plexippus, and their larval host-plant milkweed,Asclepias humistrata, in FloridaChemoecology, 1992
- Carrier-mediated uptake of digoxin by larvae of the cardenolide sequestering moth,Syntomeida epilaisThe Science of Nature, 1990
- Fate of plant-derived secondary metabolites in three moth species (Syntomis mogadorensis, Syntomeida epilais, andCreatonotos transiens)Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 1990
- Chemical defence in chewing and sucking insect herbivores: Plant-derived cardenolides in the monarch butterfly and oleander aphidChemoecology, 1990
- Lepidoptera and pyrrolizidine alkaloids Exemplification of complexity in chemical ecologyJournal of Chemical Ecology, 1990
- Evolutionary and ecological implications of cardenolide sequestration in the monarch butterflyCellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 1989
- Structure-function relationships in the sodium-potassium ATPase .alpha. subunit: site-directed mutagenesis of glutamine-111 to arginine and asparagine-122 to aspartic acid generates a ouabain-resistant enzymeBiochemistry, 1988
- Sequestration of Plant Natural Products by InsectsAnnual Review of Entomology, 1980
- Secondary Compounds as Protective AgentsAnnual Review of Plant Physiology, 1977