Purification and Partial Characterization of Vitellin of Oxya hyla hyla Serville, 1831 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Abstract

 Insect female specific sex limited protein vitellin has been identified and purified from the mature oocyte of Oxya hyla hyla (Orthoptera: Acrididae), a paddy field grasshopper of Tripura. The homogeneity of the DEAE- cellulose column purified protein has been tested by electrophoresis and HPLC studies. HPLC and fluorescent spectroscopy studies have revealed that the protein is quite stable and could tolerate treatment with 6M Urea. SDS-PAGE analysis has shown that it is composed of seven subunits and the molecular mass of the native protein is 459KDa. Further fluorescent spectroscopic studies have shown that the protein is rich in tryptophan while presence of tyrosine is little or nil.