Cocoonase

Cocoonase

Cocoonase

Enzyme produced by some silkworms

Cocoonase is a trypsin-like[1] proteolytic enzyme[2] produced by silkworms (of both Bombyx,[3] Heliconius[4] and Antheraea[5][6] species) as they near the final stages of their metamorphosis. It is produced by cells in the proboscis[7] and exuded onto the galeae.[8] Its function is to weaken the fibers of the cocoon, thereby facilitating the emergence of the adult insect.

It was discovered by Carroll Williams.[9]

References

  1. [1]
    Cocoonase: III. PURIFICATION, PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION, AND ACTIVATION OF THE ZYMOGEN OF AN INSECT PROTEASE Edward Berger and Fotis C. Kafatos, Ronald L. Felsted and John H. Law; Journal of Biological Chemistry vol. 246, no. 13 (July 10, 1971); pp 4131-4137
  2. [2]
    Cocoonase: I. PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF A PROTEOLYTIC ENZYME FROM SILK MOTHS Fotis C. Kafatos, Alan M. Tartakoff and John H. Law, Journal of Biological Chemistry vol. 242, 1477-87 (1967)
  3. [3]
    Eguchi, M.; Iwamoto, A. (1975). "Rôle of the midgut, crop, and maxillae of Bombyx mori in the production of cocoon-digesting enzyme". Journal of Insect Physiology. 21 (7): 1365. Bibcode:1975JInsP..21.1365E. doi:10.1016/0022-1910(75)90262-0.
  4. [4]
    Gilbert Smith, Aide Macias-Muñoz, Adriana Briscoe (2016). "Gene Duplication and Gene Expression Changes Play a Role in the Evolution of Candidate Pollen Feeding Genes in Heliconius Butterflies". Genome Biology and Evolution. 8 (8): 2581–96. doi:10.1093/gbe/evw180. PMC 5010911. PMID 27553646.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. [5]
    CARBONIC ANHYDRASE ACTIVITY DURING THE LARVAL-PUPAL TRANSFORMATION OF HYALOPHORA CECROPIA REARED ON FOLIAGE AND SYNTHETIC DIET: EFFECTS OF POTASSIUM AND CHLORIDE ON MIDGUT, FAT BODY AND INTEGUMENTARY ENZYMES, by James W. Johnston and Arthur M. Jungreis, Journal of Experimental Biology vol. 91 (1981), pp 255-269
  6. [6]
    Cocoonase V. STRUCTURAL STUDIES ON AN INSECT SERINE PROTEASE Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine by Karl J. Kramer, Ronald L. Felsted, and John H. Law, Journal of Biological Chemistry vol. 248 (1973) no. 9, pp 3021-3028
  7. [7]
    Moths of Australia by I. F. B. Common, published January 1990 by CSIRO Publishing, via Google Books
  8. [8]
    PHYSIOLOGY OF INSECT ECDYSIS I. THE ECLOSION BEHAVIOUR OF SATURNIID MOTHS AND ITS HORMONAL RELEASE, from the Journal of Experimental Biology, by James W. Truman, vol. 54 (1971), pp 805-814
  9. [9]
    Memorial Minutes on Carroll Williams (FAS) and Aaron Gissen (HMS) and Louis Zetzel (HMS) Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, from the Harvard Gazette; published March 21, 1996; retrieved November 16, 2011


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