Structural components of chemosensory protein mutations in the silkworm moth, Bombyx mori

Abstract The letter addresses the contribution of RNA editing to tissue-specific diversification of insect chemosensory proteins (CSPs) with a particular focus on the moth Bombyx mori . This narrow focus on RNA editing of a single gene family in a single insect species might have a broad significance to an integrated view of protein structure evolution. Including protein structure models of new edited variants and mapping the position of specific cysteine and glycine residues believed to be inserted though or mediated via mutation, we suggest effects of RNA editing on CSP protein function.