2021/09/22 by K. Banzai, Kota Banzai, S. Izumi +1 · 3 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Neuroscience · #Biology #Bombyx mori #Cell biology #Choline acetyltransferase #Cholinergic #Cholinergic neuron #Drosophila melanogaster #Enhancer #Gene #Gene expression #Gene family #Genetics #Insect Resistance and Genetics #Locus (genetics) #Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research #Neuroscience #Regulation of gene expression #Vesicular acetylcholine transporter #Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects
paper · doi:10.1111/imb.12739
published in Insect Molecular Biology 31(1), 73-84 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2021/09/22 · openalex created_date 2021/09/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Genes of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and vesicular acetylcholine transporter are encoded in the same gene locus, called the cholinergic gene locus. They are essential in cholinergic neurons to maintain their functional phenotype. The genomic structure of the cholinergic gene locus is conserved among invertebrates to mammals. However, the cholinergic gene expression in a specific subset of neurons is unknown in insects except for Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we analysed the upstream sequence of cholinergic gene locus in the silkworm Bombyx mori to identify specific cis-regulatory regions. We found multiple enhancer regions that are localized within 1 kb upstream of the cholinergic gene locus. The combination of promoter assays using small deletions and bioinformatic analysis among insect species illuminates two conserved sequences in the cis-regulatory region: TGACGTA and CCAAT, which are known as the cAMP response element and CAAT box, respectively. We found that dibutyryl-cAMP, an analogue of cAMP, influences the expression of ChAT in B. mori. Tissue-specific expression analysis of transcriptional factors identified potential candidates that control the cholinergic gene locus expression. Our investigation provides new insight into the regulation mechanism of cholinergic neuron-specific gene machinery in this lepidopteran insect.