Research Article

The vitelline membrane is the inner layer of the egg-shell, but the genomic information available for vitel-line membrane proteins (VMPs) in Lepidoptera is lim-ited. In the present study, we identified a syntenic cod-ing region for VMPs in four lepidopteran genomes (Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta, Danaus plexippus and Heliconius melpomene) and four putative VMP coding genes located within it. RT-PCR results showed Bom-byx VMP coding genes expressed prior to the early choriogenesis stage in follicles. Alignment analyses revealed that the vitelline membrane domain was shared between Lepidoptera and Diptera. However, the third cysteine residue conserved in dipteran VMPs was absent in those of Lepidoptera. In addition, another conserved region was identified in lepidopteran VMPs