The genes encoding the antibacterial sex-specific peptides ceratotoxins are clustered in the genome of the medfly Ceratitis capitata

Ceratotoxins are antibacterial peptides produced in the female reproductive accessory glands of the medfly Ceratitis capitata. Their expression is not affected by bacterial infection, but is enhanced after mating and is modulated by juvenile hormone. Three different peptides, named ceratotoxins A, B and C, have been previously purified from the female accessory gland secretion and their amino acid and cDNA sequences have been determined. We report here the complete nucleotide sequences of four genes encoding closely related ceratotoxin peptides. One of them encodes a novel peptide, which we named ceratotoxin D. Restriction and nucleotide sequence analysis indicate that these ceratotoxin genes are organized in a large cluster spanning more than 26 kilobases of DNA. All ceratotoxin genes are coordinately expressed. Ceratotoxin transcripts appear in 2-3 day old adult females, and they reach a maximum in 6-7 day old females. The presence of highly conserved motifs in the upstream regions of all the sequenced ceratotoxin genes suggests the presence of common regulatory elements for all ceratotoxins.