Structure of the Gene for the Arylphorin-type Storage Protein SP 2 of Bombyx mori

Two forms of storage proteins termed “SP 1” and “SP 2,” respectively, accumulate in a stage-dependent fashion in the larval hemolymph of the silkworm Bombyx mori. We have cloned and analyzed the genomic sequence encoding SP 2, an arylphorin-type storage protein. The SP 2 structural gene contains five exons spanning over 5 kilobases of chromosomal DNA. The transcription initiation site of the SP 2 gene was identified at the nucleotide level and a typical TATA box was located 30 base pairs upstream of the transcription initiation site. The 5′-flanking region of the gene contains a sequence homologous to the SV 40 enhancer “core” structure. A region homologous to the Drosophila enhancer sequence predicted for the fat body specificity of gene expression exists in the 5′-upstream region. Developmental profiles of the SP 2 mRNA and its precursor in the fat body indicate that the biosynthesis of SP 2 is developmentally regulated at the level of transcription. The exon/intron composition of the SP 2 gene is remarkably similar to that of the SP 1 gene. Moreover, the deduced primary structures of SP 1 and SP 2 exhibit nearly 30% homology, implying that two storage protein genes of the B. mori silkworm might have evolved from a common ancestor.