Juvenile hormone regulation of HMG-R gene expression in the bark beetle Ips paraconfusus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae): implications for male aggregation pheromone biosynthesis

Juvenile hormone III (JH III) induces acyclic isoprenoid pheromone production in male Ips paraconfusus. A likely regulatory enzyme in this process is 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-R). To begin molecular studies on pheromone production, a 1.16-kb complementary DNA representing approximately one-third of I. paraconfususHMG-R was isolated by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. The predicted translation product is 59% and 75% identical to the corresponding portion of HMG-R from the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, respectively. Northern blots show that topical application of JH III increases HMG-R transcript levels in male thoraces in an apparent dose- and time-dependent manner. These data support the model that JH III raises HMG-R transcript levels, resulting in increased activity of the isoprenoid pathway and de novo pheromone production.