Rethinking Sesquiterpenoids: A Widespread Hormone in Animals

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

William G. Bendena¹  Zhenpeng Kai²  Zhe Qu³  Wai Lok So³  Jerome H. L. Hui³ 

[1] Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada;School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China;School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;

关键词: evolution;    farnesoic acid;    methyl farnesoate;    juvenile hormone;    insect;    metazoan;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms23115998

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The sesquiterpenoid hormone juvenile hormone (JH) controls development, reproduction, and metamorphosis in insects, and has long been thought to be confined to the Insecta. While it remains true that juvenile hormone is specifically synthesized in insects, other types or forms of sesquiterpenoids have also been discovered in distantly related animals, such as the jellyfish. Here, we combine the latest literature and annotate the sesquiterpenoid biosynthetic pathway genes in different animal genomes. We hypothesize that the sesquiterpenoid hormonal system is an ancestral system established in an animal ancestor and remains widespread in many animals. Different animal lineages have adapted different enzymatic routes from a common pathway, with cnidarians producing farnesoic acid (FA); non-insect protostomes and non-vertebrate deuterostomes such as cephalochordate and echinoderm synthesizing FA and methyl farnesoate (MF); and insects producing FA, MF, and JH. Our hypothesis revolutionizes the current view on the sesquiterpenoids in the metazoans, and forms a foundation for a re-investigation of the roles of this important and yet neglected type of hormone in different animals.

【 授权许可】

Unknown