Characterization of vitellin in the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch

Limited information exists regarding the physiology of mite reproduction, especially relative to the characterization of vitellin and the endocrine regulation of yolk synthesis and deposition into eggs. The general hypothesis has been that the Acari are similar to insects and they regulate female reproduction with juvenile hormone. However, recent detailed studies with hard ticks have characterized the molecular biology of vitellin and shown that the appearance of the vitellin message is regulated by ecdysteroids. Essentially nothing is known about the yolk proteins of mites and their endocrine regulation. The current study is the first proteomics-based effort to characterize a mite vitellin from the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, as compared to the same from the American dog tick. These studies include the determination of the molecular weight, the number of protein subunits, and lipid, carbohydrate and heme sequestration.