BURSICON, INSECT CUTICLE-SCLEROTIZING NEUROHORMONE – REVIEW ARTICLE | ||||
Assiut Journal of Agricultural Sciences | ||||
Article 9, Volume 37, Issue 3, October 2006, Page 127-141 PDF (1.16 MB) | ||||
Document Type: Original Article | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/ajas.2006.274629 | ||||
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Author | ||||
Abdulaziz S. Al-Qarni | ||||
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food Science & Agriculture, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, King Saud University | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Bursicon is the neuropeptide hormone that is responsible for hardening and darkening of the cuticle in insects. It is one of the five key insect hormones which regulate the proper sequence of the insect molt. Small amount of bursicon could be found in the brain. It could be also detected in the ventral nerve cord 6-10 times more than in the brain. The release time of bursicon is just after ecdysis at each molt. The chemical structure of bursicon is a polypeptide of a single-chain molecule with a molecular weight of 30 kDa. Additionally, nerve cord homogenates of several insect species and the lobster give results in the ligated fly bioassay. These data indicate that bursicon has a conserved structure throughout arthropods. This article describes the bioassay, chemical identity and gene structure of bursicon. Mode of action and application are discussed. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
bursicon; insect cuticle; sclerotizing neurohormone | ||||
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