Pteridine in the Integument of the Orange-type Pupa of the Swallowtail, Papilio xuthus L.

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INTRODUCTION The Brown-Green alternative in the pupae of the swallowtail, Papilio xuthus L. has been studied from several aspects. Hidaka (1956, 1961) was able to show that a neurohormone secreted from the prothoracic ganglion during later prepupal period induces formation of the Brown-type pupa. When the brain fails to stimulate the secretion of this neurohormone because of some environmental conditions, a pupa of the Green type appears. Ohnishi (1959) studied the phenomenon from the biochemical viewpoint of carotenoid formation. The integument of the Green-type pupa is shown to contain the β-carotene and the lutein as the major carotenoid components. In the Brown-type pupa, however, along with the melanins, the main carotenoids were found to be an astaxanthine-ester and a group of unknown carotenoids which Ohnishi called papilioerythrins. Recently, it was made clear by Harashima et al. (1967, and also unpublished data) that the astaxanthine-ester mentioned above is in fact the canthaxanthine, an oxidized form of β-carotene, and the "papilioerythrins" correspond to oxidized forms of the lutein. This speaks of the likelihood of an earlier supposition that the neurohormone of the prothoracic ganglion will induce the Brown-type integument by triggering oxidation of the melanin precursor and carotenoids in the cuticle (Ohnishi, 1959; Hidaka, 1961). When larvae of Papilio xuthus develop under a short-day condition of light, they become diapausing pupae (Hidaka, 1961; Hidaka and Hirai, 1970). The alternative appears then as the Orange-Green D (diapausing Green) alternative instead of the Brown-Green one observed in non-diapausing pupae. Endocrine mechanism as well as carotenoid relationship remain all the same in both diapausing and non-diapausing series (Hidaka, 1961). What is interesting is that this pigment oxidation is a process separate from the tanning which is also an oxidative process. The cuticle of the Green-type pupa is no more and no less tanned than that of the Brown/Orange type. Though all the Brown/Orange-type pupae are green immediately after pupal ecdysis, they become fully colored within succeeding 24 hours. Some changes must proceed during this period in the cuticle, under the influence of the neurohormone of the prothoracic ganglion. It is known that pteridines (tetrahydrotype) act as a co-factor of enzymatic hydroxylation of phenylalanine (Kaufman, 1959, 1963) and tyrosine (Nagatsu et al., 1964; Brenneman and Kaufman, 1964). It seems therefore none the less likely that pteridines may play some important role in the melanization taking place in the insect cuticle as well. The pupal integument of Papilio xuthus shows some fluorescence under the ultra-violet light. If this fluorescence is due to pteridines, then these substances may have a relationship with the co-factor in the hormone-controlled pigment oxidation within the cuticle. As a step for making clear mechanism of hormone action on the pigment oxidation, isolation and identification of pteridines was carried out.
社団法人日本動物学会の論文
1971-03-15

Pteridine in the Integument of the Orange-type Pupa of the Swallowtail, Papilio xuthus L.

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