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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES / EVOLUTION
Novel sex pheromone desaturases in the genomes of corn borers generated through gene duplication and retroposon fusion
*Department of Entomology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456; National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL 61604; and Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-B21 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan
Contributed by Wendell L. Roelofs, January 17, 2007 (received for review December 11, 2006)
The biosynthesis of female moth sex pheromone blends is controlled by a number of different enzymes, many of which are encoded by members of multigene families. One such multigene family, the acyl-CoA desaturases, is composed of certain genes that function as key players in moth sex pheromone biosynthesis. Although much is known regarding the function of some of these genes, very little is known regarding how novel genes have evolved within this family and how this might impact the establishment of new sex pheromone blends within a species. We have discovered that several cryptic 
11 and 14 desaturase genes exist in the genomes of the European and Asian corn borers (Ostrinia nubilalis and Ostrinia furnacalis, respectively). Furthermore, an entirely novel class of desaturase gene has arisen in the Ostrinia lineage and is derived from duplication of the 11 desaturase gene and subsequent fusion with a retroposon. Interestingly, the genes have been maintained over relatively long evolutionary time periods in corn borer genomes, and they have not been recognizably pseudogenized, suggesting that they maintain functional integrity. The existence of cryptic desaturase genes in moth genomes indicates that the evolution of moth sex pheromone desaturases in general is much more complex than previously recognized.
Ostrinia | phylogeny | pseudogene | biosynthesis | evolution
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data deposition: The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the GenBank database (accession nos. EF113390–EF113404 and EF125923–EF125927).
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wlr1{at}cornell.edu
© 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
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