Purification, cDNA cloning and northern blot analysis of trehalase of pupal midgut of the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Trehalase (alpha-glucoside-1-glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.28) was purified from silkworm pupal midgut to homogeneity by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and hydroxyapatite chromatography, and native gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had a molecular mass of 70 kDa. The N-terminal amino-acid sequence of the intact trehalase and its three fragments by V8 proteinase digestion was determined. Based on the amino-acid sequence, degenerate oligonucleotides were synthesized and used as primers in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Using a 0.8 kb PCR product as a hybridization probe, trehalase clones were isolated from the pupal midgut cDNA library. Sequence analysis revealed that the isolated trehalase cDNA contains 3103 nucleotides and comprises 579 amino acids, including a cleavable signal sequence and five potential N-glycosylation sites. Northern blot analysis clearly showed a 3.0 kb transcript in midgut, and Malpighian tubule, but not in fat body, silk gland, ovary, trachea, brain and suboesophageal ganglion.