Leucine-rich fibroin gene of the Japanese wild silkmoth, Rhodinia fugax (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Abstract

We cloned and characterized a partial fibroin gene of Rhodinia fugax (Saturniidae). The gene encodes a fibroin consisting mainly of orderly arranged repeats, each of which is divided into a polyalanine and a nonpolyalanine block, similar to the fibroins of Antheraea pernyi and A. yamamai. Three repeat types differ in the sequence of the nonpolyalanine block. In contrast to the Antheraea fibroins, the fibroin of R. fugax is rich in glutamate and leucine residues (about 3% and 5%, respectively) and contains less alanine.