A novel member of the NSF family in the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea: molecular cloning, developmental expression, and tissue distribution

N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF) is an ATPase that plays an essential role in intracellular membrane transport events. We report the cloning of a cDNA encoding NSF from the noctuid moth, Helicoverpa zea (Hez), a major agricultural pest. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA indicates that Hez-NSF has 88%, 73%, and 70% identities to NSF from Manduca sexta, Aedes aegypti, and Drosophila melanogaster, respectively. Northern hybridization analysis clearly shows a 4.4 kb mRNA, corresponding in size to the cDNA present in the brain–suboesophageal ganglion (SG) complex of pupae. The NSF transcript is present in components of the central nervous system, including the brain, SG, thoracic ganglion and abdominal ganglion, but is not present in nonneural tissues. A developmental profile of gene expression revealed that Hez-NSF mRNA is present throughout the embryonic, larval, and pupal development.