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DFMO feeding lowers polyamine levels and causes developmental defects in the silkworm Bombyx mori

2021; Elsevier BV; Volume: 25; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.aspen.2021.10.011

1876-7990

Resma Rajan, Alekhya Rani Chunduri, Prasanthi Siripurapu, Annapurna Bhavani Satti, Sai Krishna Kottakota, Bhagyasree Marupilla, Arun Kumar Kallare, Anitha Mamillapalli,

Polyamine Metabolism and Applications

The domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori is an economically important insect that produces large quantities of silk during its 5th instar larval stage. Polyamines are important regulators of growth and have been shown to affect silk production, however their role in larval development is not completely understood. L-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key regulatory enzyme in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway catalyzes the conversion of ornithine to putrescine, which is further broken down to spermidine and spermine. In this study, we set out to understand the role of ODC on the growth and development of silkworm larvae. We fed 5th instar larvae with α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an ODC inhibitor and studied its impact on larval silk glands. Feeding DFMO did not alter the expression of L-ODC but led to a significant reduction in putrescine and spermidine levels. Furthermore, reduced cellular levels of polyamine led to increased oxidative stress and decreased cell viability. Subsequently, this resulted in several developmental defects at the pupal and moth stages. These findings highlight the importance of ODC in the growth and development of B. mori larvae.