| Popis: |
Despite the prominent occurrence of proteins in the insect cuticle, this major component has received relatively little study, especially in the coleopterous insects. We report here the first characterization of abdominal cuticle proteins from final instar larvae, pupae and adult cotton boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman. Approximate molecular weights for the major cuticle proteins found in each developmental stage were determined by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. A number of stage specific cuticle proteins were identified from larvae, pupae and young adults. A variety of mouse polyclonal antibodies were raised against mixtures of cuticle proteins and SDS-PAGE purified individual cuticle proteins. Immunostaining of Western blots with these antibodies allowed several generalizations about the antigenic relatedness of the cuticle proteins to be drawn. An anti-larval cuticle protein antibody was found to be capable of detecting putative larval cuticle proteins in developing boll weevil embryos. |
