Proteases of Stored Product Insects and Their Inhibition by Specific Protease Inhibitors from Soybeans and Wheat Grain

摘要

The research covered by the first Interim Report primarily was devoted to detection, isolation and characterization of digestive proteinases of the rust red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), and the locust (Locusta migratoria). Recently, the latter has been posing a serious threat to valuable crops in different parts of the world. The detection of trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like enzymes in the midgut of Tribolium castaneum larvae suggests that this insect may be susceptible to inhibition by naturally-occuring trypsin- and chymotrypsin-inhibitors. The findings that trypsin and chymotrypsin from the digestive tract of Tenebrio adults differ in amino acid composition from the respective larval enzymes indicates that the composition and consequently, the structure of the proteolytic enzymes in the adult do not remain the same as in the larva after metamorphosis.