Terpenoid omega-hydroxylase (CYP4C7) messenger RNA levels in the corpora allata: a marker for ovarian control of juvenile hormone synthesis in Diploptera punctata.

Ribonuclease protection assays were used to measure changes in allatal transcript levels of the CYP4C7 gene which encodes a cytochrome P450 terpenoid omega-hydroxylase thought to play a role in the metabolism of JH and its precursors. Denervation of the corpora allata does not affect the pattern of expression of the CYP4C7 gene. Transplantation experiments show that CYP4C7 mRNA levels are dependent on a humoral factor characteristic of the reproductive state of the insect. Messenger RNA levels rise substantially in mated or denervated females, or in mated or virgin females treated with hydroprene, when the follicle length is over 1.5 mm. Vitellogenic ovaries however exert a negative influence on CYP4C7 expression, as ovariectomy in mated females causes a premature rise in CYP4C7 mRNA levels. The half-life of the CYP4C7 transcript is approx. 2 h when the corpora allata are incubated in vitro. Under these conditions, coincubation with a post-vitellogenic ovary maintains high CYP4C7 transcript levels in the glands. Excess juvenile hormone or analog applied at the end of vitellogenesis blocks ovulation or causes abortion of embryos deposited in the brood sac. We conclude that expression of the CYP4C7 gene is tightly controlled by the ovary, and it coincides with the ovarian signal to turn off juvenile hormone synthesis. The role of the CYP4C7 enzyme may be to ensure the clearance of allatal juvenile hormone and its precursors at the end of the gonotrophic cycle.