Steroid receptor co-activator is required for juvenile hormone signal transduction through a bHLH-PAS transcription factor, methoprene tolerant.

Metamorphosis in insects is regulated by juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids. The mechanism of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), but not of JH action, is well understood. A basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) family member, methoprene tolerant (Met), plays an important role in JH action. Microarray analysis and RNA interference (RNAi) were used to identify 69 genes that require Met for their hydroprene-regulated expression in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Quantitative real time PCR analysis confirmed microarray data for 13 of the 16 hydroprene-response genes tested. The members of the bHLH-PAS family often function as heterodimers to regulate gene expression and Met is a member of this family. To determine whether other members of the bHLH-PAS family are required for the expression of JH-response genes, we employed RNAi to knockdown the expression of all 11 members of the bHLH-PAS family and studied the expression of JH-response genes in RNAi insects. These studies showed that besides Met, another member of this family, steroid receptor co-activator (SRC) is required for the expression of 15 JH-response genes tested. Moreover, studies in JH responsive Aag-2 cells revealed that Aedes aegypti homologues of both Met and SRC are required for the expression of the JH-response gene, kr-h1, and SRC is required for expression of ecdysone-response genes. These data suggest the steroid receptor co-activator plays key roles in both JH and 20E action suggesting that this may be an important molecule that mediates cross-talk between JH and 20E to prevent metamorphosis.