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Shang F, Ding BY, Zhang YT, Wu JJ, Pan ST, Wang JJ. Genome-wide analysis of long non-coding RNAs and their association with wing development in Aphis citricidus (Hemiptera: Aphididae). INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 139:103666. [PMID: 34619323 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in the various physiological processes of insects. The wing is a successful adaptation allowing insects to escape from unfavorable environments, while information on lncRNAs related to wing development is limited. In this study, we constructed 12 libraries from two RNA-seq comparisons: 4th instar winged nymphs versus winged adults and 4th instar wingless nymphs versus wingless adults in the brown citrus aphid Aphis citricidus, to identify the wing development-associated lncRNAs. A total of 2914 lncRNAs were identified and 50 lncRNAs were differentially expressed during the 4th instar winged nymphs to winged adults transition, and 28 lncRNAs changed during the 4th instar wingless nymphs to wingless adults transition. The differentially expressed lncRNAs were grouped into six clusters according to the expression patterns in the combined two-winged morphs. lncRNA Ac_lnc54106.1 was up-regulated during 4th instar winged nymphs to winged adults transition, but a lack of change during the 4th instar wingless nymphs to wingless adults transition implied a critical role in the specific regulation of wing development. RNA interference of Ac_lnc54106.1 resulted in malformed wings. Targets prediction, expression patterns, and RNAi assay results showed that Ac_lnc54106.1 may target the PiggyBac transposable element-derived protein 4 (PGBD4) gene, decrease expression of the canonical wing development-related genes, and finally regulate wing development. The systematic identification of lncRNAs in an aphid increases our understanding of how non-coding RNA mediates the wing plasticity of insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Shang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China; State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Bi-Yue Ding
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China; State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| | - Yong-Te Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
| | - Jin-Jin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
| | - Si-Tong Pan
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
| | - Jin-Jun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China; State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
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Fudickar AM, Jahn AE, Ketterson ED. Animal Migration: An Overview of One of Nature's Great Spectacles. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012021-031035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The twenty-first century has witnessed an explosion in research on animal migration, in large part due to a technological revolution in tracking and remote-sensing technologies, along with advances in genomics and integrative biology. We now have access to unprecedented amounts of data on when, where, and how animals migrate across various continents and oceans. Among the important advancements, recent studies have uncovered a surprising level of variation in migratory trajectories at the species and population levels with implications for both speciation and the conservation of migratory populations. At the organismal level, studies linking molecular and physiological mechanisms to traits that support migration have revealed a remarkable amount of seasonal flexibility in many migratory animals. Advancements in the theory for why animals migrate have resulted in promising new directions for empirical studies. We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge and promising future avenues of study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam M. Fudickar
- Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA;, ,
| | - Alex E. Jahn
- Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA;, ,
| | - Ellen D. Ketterson
- Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA;, ,
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
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Yang M, Liang S, Wang F. Differential DNA methylation between long-winged and short-winged adults of Nilaparvata lugens. 3 Biotech 2021; 11:476. [PMID: 34777933 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-021-03026-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Nilaparvata lugens, a catastrophic rice pest in South East Asia, has adults with wing dimorphism. DNA methylation has been proved to play an important role in regulation of phenotype differentiation in insects. In this study, methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) was used to investigate the cytosine methylation state at CCGG sites in macropterous male adults (MMA) and brachypterous male adults (BMA) of brown planthopper. In MMA, the fully methylated ratio was 2.96%, hemi-methylated ratio 3.83% and total methylated ratio 6.79%. In BMA, they were 5.53%, 4.19% and 9.72%, respectively. There were significant differences in the methylation of the target sites (CCGG) between MMA and BMA (ØST = 0.2614, P = 0.0354). Based the PCoA results, a much clear separation were also shown between MMA and BMA along the first coordinate (38.8% of variance explained). We also cloned and got nine satisfactory sequences with different methylation states between MMA and BMA. Two of them have similarity with male-specific sequence in chromosome Y and lipophorin receptor gene in N. lugens, respectively. The result showed that the methylation patterns and levels were different between two wing phenotypes of N. lugens, and will facilitate research on the epigenetic mechanism of insect wing dimorphism.
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54
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Xue WH, Xu N, Chen SJ, Liu XY, Zhang JL, Xu HJ. Neofunctionalization of a second insulin receptor gene in the wing-dimorphic planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009653. [PMID: 34181658 PMCID: PMC8270448 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A single insulin receptor (InR) gene has been identified and extensively studied in model species ranging from nematodes to mice. However, most insects possess additional copies of InR, yet the functional significance, if any, of alternate InRs is unknown. Here, we used the wing-dimorphic brown planthopper (BPH) as a model system to query the role of a second InR copy in insects. NlInR2 resembled the BPH InR homologue (NlInR1) in terms of nymph development and reproduction, but revealed distinct regulatory roles in fuel metabolism, lifespan, and starvation tolerance. Unlike a lethal phenotype derived from NlInR1 null, homozygous NlInR2 null mutants were viable and accelerated DNA replication and cell proliferation in wing cells, thus redirecting short-winged–destined BPHs to develop into long-winged morphs. Additionally, the proper expression of NlInR2 was needed to maintain symmetric vein patterning in wings. Our findings provide the first direct evidence for the regulatory complexity of the two InR paralogues in insects, implying the functionally independent evolution of multiple InRs in invertebrates. The highly conserved insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in growth, development, and various physiological processes across a wide phylogeny of organisms. Unlike a single InR in the model species such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, most insect lineages have two or even three InR copies. However, the function of the alternative InRs remains elusive. Here, we created a homozygous mutation for a second insulin receptor (InR2) in the wing-dimorphic brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated (CRISPR/Cas9) system. Our findings revealed that InR2 possesses functions distinct from the BPH InR homologue (NlInR1), indicating that multiple InR paralogues may have evolved independently and may have functionally diversified in ways more complex than previously expected in invertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Hua Xue
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Nan Xu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sun-Jie Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xin-Yang Liu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jin-Li Zhang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Jun Xu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- State Key laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
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Transcriptome Analysis of the Regulatory Mechanism of FoxO on Wing Dimorphism in the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12050413. [PMID: 34064478 PMCID: PMC8148023 DOI: 10.3390/insects12050413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens can develop into either long-winged or short-winged adults depending on environmental stimuli received during larval stages. The transcription factor NlFoxO serves as a key regulator determining alternative wing morphs in BPH, but the underlying molecular mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the transcriptomic profile of forewing and hindwing buds across the 5th-instar stage, the wing-morph decision stage. Our results indicated that NlFoxO modulated the developmental plasticity of wing buds mainly by regulating the expression of cell proliferation-associated genes. Abstract The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, can develop into either short-winged (SW) or long-winged (LW) adults according to environmental conditions, and has long served as a model organism for exploring the mechanisms of wing polyphenism in insects. The transcription factor NlFoxO acts as a master regulator that directs the development of either SW or LW morphs, but the underlying molecular mechanism is largely unknown. Here, we microinjected SW-destined morphs with double stranded-RNA (dsRNA) targeting NlFoxO (dsNlFoxO) to change them into LW-winged morphs. In parallel, SW-destined morphs microinjected with dsRNA targeting the gene encoding green fluorescence protein (dsGfp) served as a negative control. The forewing and hindwing buds of 5th-instar nymphs collected at 24, 36, and 48 h after eclosion (hAE) were used for RNA sequencing. We obtained a minimum of 43.4 million clean reads from forewing and hindwing buds at a single developmental time. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in various Gene Ontology (GO) terms, including cellular process, binding, and cell part. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment pathway analysis showed that up-regulated genes in dsNlFoxO-treated forewing and hindwing buds were largely associated with the cell cycle and DNA replication. Furthermore, most up-regulated genes displayed higher expression at 24-, and 36-hAE relative to 48 hAE, indicating that wing cells in LW-destined wings might actively proliferate during the first 36 h in 5th-instar nymphs. Our findings indicated that LW development in BPH was likely dependent on the duration of cell proliferation in the 5th-instar stage, which sheds light on the molecular basis of wing polymorphism in insects.
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Westwick RR, Rittschof CC. Insects Provide Unique Systems to Investigate How Early-Life Experience Alters the Brain and Behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:660464. [PMID: 33967715 PMCID: PMC8097038 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.660464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life experiences have strong and long-lasting consequences for behavior in a surprising diversity of animals. Determining which environmental inputs cause behavioral change, how this information becomes neurobiologically encoded, and the functional consequences of these changes remain fundamental puzzles relevant to diverse fields from evolutionary biology to the health sciences. Here we explore how insects provide unique opportunities for comparative study of developmental behavioral plasticity. Insects have sophisticated behavior and cognitive abilities, and they are frequently studied in their natural environments, which provides an ecological and adaptive perspective that is often more limited in lab-based vertebrate models. A range of cues, from relatively simple cues like temperature to complex social information, influence insect behavior. This variety provides experimentally tractable opportunities to study diverse neural plasticity mechanisms. Insects also have a wide range of neurodevelopmental trajectories while sharing many developmental plasticity mechanisms with vertebrates. In addition, some insects retain only subsets of their juvenile neuronal population in adulthood, narrowing the targets for detailed study of cellular plasticity mechanisms. Insects and vertebrates share many of the same knowledge gaps pertaining to developmental behavioral plasticity. Combined with the extensive study of insect behavior under natural conditions and their experimental tractability, insect systems may be uniquely qualified to address some of the biggest unanswered questions in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca R Westwick
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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Visser B, Alborn HT, Rondeaux S, Haillot M, Hance T, Rebar D, Riederer JM, Tiso S, van Eldijk TJB, Weissing FJ, Nieberding CM. Phenotypic plasticity explains apparent reverse evolution of fat synthesis in parasitic wasps. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7751. [PMID: 33833245 PMCID: PMC8032832 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86736-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous cases of evolutionary trait loss and regain have been reported over the years. Here, we argue that such reverse evolution can also become apparent when trait expression is plastic in response to the environment. We tested this idea for the loss and regain of fat synthesis in parasitic wasps. We first show experimentally that the wasp Leptopilina heterotoma switches lipogenesis on in a fat-poor environment, and completely off in a fat-rich environment. Plasticity suggests that this species did not regain fat synthesis, but that it can be switched off in some environmental settings. We then compared DNA sequence variation and protein domains of several more distantly related parasitoid species thought to have lost lipogenesis, and found no evidence for non-functionality of key lipogenesis genes. This suggests that other parasitoids may also show plasticity of fat synthesis. Last, we used individual-based simulations to show that a switch for plastic expression can remain functional in the genome for thousands of generations, even if it is only used sporadically. The evolution of plasticity could thus also explain other examples of apparent reverse evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertanne Visser
- grid.7942.80000 0001 2294 713XEvolution and Ecophysiology Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Hans T. Alborn
- grid.417548.b0000 0004 0478 6311Chemistry Research Unit, Center of Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608 USA
| | - Suzon Rondeaux
- grid.7942.80000 0001 2294 713XEvolution and Ecophysiology Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Manon Haillot
- grid.7942.80000 0001 2294 713XEvolution and Ecophysiology Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Thierry Hance
- grid.7942.80000 0001 2294 713XEcology of Interactions and Biological Control Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Darren Rebar
- grid.255525.00000 0001 0722 577XDepartment of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University, 1 Kellogg Circle, Campus Box 4050, Emporia, KS 66801 USA
| | - Jana M. Riederer
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Stefano Tiso
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Timo J. B. van Eldijk
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Franz J. Weissing
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Caroline M. Nieberding
- grid.7942.80000 0001 2294 713XEvolutionary Ecology and Genetics Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Smýkal V, Pivarči M, Provazník J, Bazalová O, Jedlička P, Lukšan O, Horák A, Vaněčková H, Beneš V, Fiala I, Hanus R, Doležel D. Complex Evolution of Insect Insulin Receptors and Homologous Decoy Receptors, and Functional Significance of Their Multiplicity. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:1775-1789. [PMID: 32101294 PMCID: PMC7253209 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence accumulates that the functional plasticity of insulin and insulin-like growth factor signaling in insects could spring, among others, from the multiplicity of insulin receptors (InRs). Their multiple variants may be implemented in the control of insect polyphenism, such as wing or caste polyphenism. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of insect InR sequences in 118 species from 23 orders and investigate the role of three InRs identified in the linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, in wing polymorphism control. We identified two gene clusters (Clusters I and II) resulting from an ancestral duplication in a late ancestor of winged insects, which remained conserved in most lineages, only in some of them being subject to further duplications or losses. One remarkable yet neglected feature of InR evolution is the loss of the tyrosine kinase catalytic domain, giving rise to decoys of InR in both clusters. Within the Cluster I, we confirmed the presence of the secreted decoy of insulin receptor in all studied Muscomorpha. More importantly, we described a new tyrosine kinase-less gene (DR2) in the Cluster II, conserved in apical Holometabola for ∼300 My. We differentially silenced the three P. apterus InRs and confirmed their participation in wing polymorphism control. We observed a pattern of Cluster I and Cluster II InRs impact on wing development, which differed from that postulated in planthoppers, suggesting an independent establishment of insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling control over wing development, leading to idiosyncrasies in the co-option of multiple InRs in polyphenism control in different taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlastimil Smýkal
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Pivarči
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Provazník
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Olga Bazalová
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Jedlička
- Chemistry of Social Insects, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Lukšan
- Chemistry of Social Insects, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Horák
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Vaněčková
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Beneš
- Genomics Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ivan Fiala
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Robert Hanus
- Chemistry of Social Insects, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - David Doležel
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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Zhang JL, Fu SJ, Chen SJ, Chen HH, Liu YL, Liu XY, Xu HJ. Vestigial mediates the effect of insulin signaling pathway on wing-morph switching in planthoppers. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009312. [PMID: 33561165 PMCID: PMC7899339 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Wing polymorphism is an evolutionary feature found in a wide variety of insects, which offers a model system for studying the evolutionary significance of dispersal. In the wing-dimorphic planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway acts as a ‘master signal’ that directs the development of either long-winged (LW) or short-winged (SW) morphs via regulation of the activity of Forkhead transcription factor subgroup O (NlFoxO). However, downstream effectors of the IIS–FoxO signaling cascade that mediate alternative wing morphs are unclear. Here we found that vestigial (Nlvg), a key wing-patterning gene, is selectively and temporally regulated by the IIS–FoxO signaling cascade during the wing-morph decision stage (fifth-instar stage). RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of Nlfoxo increase Nlvg expression in the fifth-instar stage (the last nymphal stage), thereby inducing LW development. Conversely, silencing of Nlvg can antagonize the effects of IIS activity on LW development, redirecting wing commitment from LW to the morph with intermediate wing size. In vitro and in vivo binding assays indicated that NlFoxO protein may suppress Nlvg expression by directly binding to the first intron region of the Nlvg locus. Our findings provide a first glimpse of the link connecting the IIS pathway to the wing-patterning network on the developmental plasticity of wings in insects, and help us understanding how phenotypic diversity is generated by the modification of a common set of pattern elements. Many insects are capable of developing into either long-winged or short-winged adults, but the underlying molecular basis remains largely unknown. Pioneer studies showed that the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway acts as a ‘master signal’ that directs wing buds to develop into long or short wings in the wing-dimorphic planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. However, downstream effectors mediating the IIS pathway effects are unknown. Our findings highlight that vestigial, a key wing-patterning gene, is a main downstream effector that mediates the IIS activity on the development of alternative wing morphs during the wing-morph decision stage. The molecular mechanism of wing formation, including the function of vestigial, has been studied in great depth in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. Our data provide a first glimpse of the link connecting the IIS pathway to the wing-patterning network in regulating developmental plasticity of wings in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Li Zhang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sheng-Jie Fu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sun-Jie Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hao-Hao Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yi-Lai Liu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xin-Yang Liu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Jun Xu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- State Key laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
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Hanna L, Abouheif E. The origin of wing polyphenism in ants: An eco-evo-devo perspective. Curr Top Dev Biol 2021; 141:279-336. [PMID: 33602491 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of eusociality, where solitary individuals integrate into a single colony, is a major transition in individuality. In ants, the origin of eusociality coincided with the origin of a wing polyphenism approximately 160 million years ago, giving rise to colonies with winged queens and wingless workers. As a consequence, both eusociality and wing polyphenism are nearly universal features of all ants. Here, we synthesize fossil, ecological, developmental, and evolutionary data in an attempt to understand the factors that contributed to the origin of wing polyphenism in ants. We propose multiple models and hypotheses to explain how wing polyphenism is orchestrated at multiple levels, from environmental cues to gene networks. Furthermore, we argue that the origin of wing polyphenism enabled the subsequent evolution of morphological diversity across the ants. We finally conclude by outlining several outstanding questions for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hanna
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ehab Abouheif
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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61
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Shen Y, Chen YZ, Zhang CX. RNAi-mediated silencing of ferritin genes in the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens affects survival, growth and female fecundity. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2021; 77:365-377. [PMID: 32741141 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, is the most destructive rice insect pest. To exploit potential target genes for applications in transgenic rice to control this sap-sucking insect pest, three ferritin genes were functionally characterized in this study. RESULTS In this study, three ferritin genes, that is, ferritin 1 Heavy Chain (NlFer1), ferritin 2 Light Chain (NlFer2) and soma ferritin (Nlsoma-Fer), were identified from BPH. Tissue-specific analyses showed that all three genes were highly expressed in the gut. Although double-stranded RNA injection-mediated RNA inference (RNAi) of Nlsoma-Fer expression resulted in only < 14% mortality in BPH, knockdown of NlFer1 or NlFer2 led to retarded growth and 100% mortality in young nymphs, and downregulation of NlFer1 and NlFer2 in newly emerged female adults caused undeveloped ovaries and severely inhibited oocyte growth, resulting in extremely low fecundity and a zero hatching rate. Knockdown of NlFer1 and NlFer2 caused similar phenotypes in BPH, indicating that they function together, as in many other animals. The results demonstrated that NlFer1 and NlFer2 were essential for BPH development and reproduction. BPHs showed high sensitivity to both dsNlFer1 and dsNlFer2, and injection of only 0.625 ng dsNlFer1 per BPH resulted in 100% mortality. Additionally, the effectiveness of feeding dsNlFer1 and dsNlFer2 to BPH nymphs was further proven. CONCLUSION NlFer1 and NlFer2 are essential for BPH development and reproduction, and the insect is highly sensitive to their depletion, suggesting that the two gut-highly-expressed genes are promising candidates for application in RNAi-based control of this destructive pest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Shen
- Institute of Insect Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MOA of China and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Yuan-Zhi Chen
- Institute of Insect Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chuan-Xi Zhang
- Institute of Insect Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MOA of China and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
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Xu L, Zhang J, Zhan A, Wang Y, Ma X, Jie W, Cao Z, Omar MAA, He K, Li F. Identification and Analysis of MicroRNAs Associated with Wing Polyphenism in the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E9754. [PMID: 33371331 PMCID: PMC7767257 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Many insects are capable of developing two types of wings (i.e., wing polyphenism) to adapt to various environments. Though the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating animal growth and development have been well studied, their potential roles in modulating wing polyphenism remain largely elusive. To identify wing polyphenism-related miRNAs, we isolated small RNAs from 1st to 5th instar nymphs of long-wing (LW) and short-wing (SW) strains of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens. Small RNA libraries were then constructed and sequenced, yielding 158 conserved and 96 novel miRNAs. Among these, 122 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two BPH strains. Specifically, 47, 2, 27 and 41 miRNAs were more highly expressed in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th instars, respectively, of the LW strain compared with the SW strain. In contrast, 47, 3, 29 and 25 miRNAs were more highly expressed in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th instars, respectively, of the SW strain compared with the LW strain. Next, we predicted the targets of these miRNAs and carried out Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. We found that a number of pathways might be involved in wing form determination, such as the insulin, MAPK, mTOR, FoxO and thyroid hormone signaling pathways and the thyroid hormone synthesis pathway. Thirty and 45 differentially expressed miRNAs targeted genes in the insulin signaling and insect hormone biosynthesis pathways, respectively, which are related to wing dimorphism. Among these miRNAs, Nlu-miR-14-3p, Nlu-miR-9a-5p and Nlu-miR-315-5p, were confirmed to interact with insulin receptors (NlInRs) in dual luciferase reporter assays. These discoveries are helpful for understanding the miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanism of wing polyphenism in BPHs and shed new light on how insects respond to environmental cues through developmental plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
| | - Jiao Zhang
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (J.Z.); (W.J.)
| | - Anran Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
| | - Yaqin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
| | - Xingzhou Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (J.Z.); (W.J.)
| | - Wencai Jie
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (J.Z.); (W.J.)
| | - Zhenghong Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
| | - Mohamed A. A. Omar
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21531, Egypt
| | - Kang He
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
| | - Fei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (L.X.); (A.Z.); (X.M.); (Z.C.); (M.A.A.O.); (F.L.)
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Chen HH, Liu YL, Liu XY, Zhang JL, Xu HJ. Functional Analysis of Nuclear Factor Y in the Wing-Dimorphic Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Front Genet 2020; 11:585320. [PMID: 33240330 PMCID: PMC7670041 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.585320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a heterotrimeric transcription factor with the ability to bind to a CCAAT box in nearly all eukaryotes. However, the function of NF-Y in the life-history traits of insects is unclear. Here, we identified three NF-Y subunits, NlNF-YA, NlNF-YB, and NlNF-YC, in the wing-dimorphic brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens. Spatio-temporal analysis indicated that NlNF-YA, NlNF-YB, and NlNF-YC distributed extensively in various body parts of fourth-instar nymphs, and were highly expressed at the egg stage. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing showed that knockdown of NlNF-YA, NlNF-YB, or NlNF-YC in third-instar nymphs significantly extended the fifth-instar duration, and decreased nymph-adult molting rate. The addition of 20-hydroxyecdysone could specifically rescue the defect in adult molting caused by NlNF-YARNAi, indicating that NlNF-Y might modulate the ecdysone signaling pathway in the BPH. In addition, NlNF-YARNAi, NlNF-YBRNAi, or NlNF-YCRNAi led to small and moderately malformed forewings and hindwings, and impaired the normal assembly of indirect flight muscles. Adult BPHs treated with NlNF-YARNAi, NlNF-YBRNAi, or NlNF-YCRNAi produced fewer eggs, and eggs laid by these BPHs had arrested embryogenesis. These findings deepen our understanding of NF-Y function in hemipteran insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Hao Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yi-Lai Liu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xin-Yang Liu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jin-Li Zhang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Jun Xu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Hong F, Mo SH, Liu Y, Wei D. Transcriptomic Profiling of Various Developmental Stages of Aphis Aurantii to Provide a Genetic Resource for Gene Expression and SSR Analysis. Front Physiol 2020; 11:578939. [PMID: 33071832 PMCID: PMC7530277 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.578939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Hong
- College of Agriculture, Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang, China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Si-Hua Mo
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yinghong Liu
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Dong Wei
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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65
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Shang F, Niu J, Ding BY, Wang JJ. Comparative Insight into the Bacterial Communities in Alate and Apterous Morphs of Brown Citrus Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae). JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 113:1436-1444. [PMID: 32040182 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toaa016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Wing polyphenism (alate and apterous morphs) in aphids is a trade-off between dispersal and reproduction. How bacterial communities are associated with wing polyphenism in aphids is still not clearly understood. This study used 16S rRNA sequencing to examine the differences in diversity of the bacterial community between alate and apterous morphs in Aphis citricidus, the main vector of the Citrus tristeza virus. Eighty-one operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 37 orders, 34 classes, and 13 phyla were identified from all samples. Among these OTUs, Wolbachia (79.17%), Buchnera (17.64%), and Pseudomonas (2.99%) were the dominant bacterial genera. The diversity of symbionts varied between the two morphs; apterous morphs had more bacterial diversity (69 OTUs belonging to 45 families, 21 classes, and 12 phyla) than alate morphs (45 OTUs belonging to 36 families, 15 classes, and 10 phyla). In addition, the abundance of five OTUs was significantly different between two morphs. Among these OTUs, two Pseudomonas species (Pseudomonas_brenneri [OTU21] and unclassified_Pseudomonas [OTU13]) represented a high proportion (3.93% and 2.06%) in alate morphs but were present in low abundance (0.006% and 0.002%) in apterous morphs. RT-qPCR showed consistent results with high-throughput DNA sequencing. The preliminary survey showed the difference in composition and frequency of bacteria between alate and apterous morphs. Thus, the results contribute to anew insight of microorganisms that may be involved in wing dimorphism and helpful for controlling the dispersal of this pest through artificial elimination or reinfection of bacterial symbionts or targeting symbiosis-related host genes by RNA interference in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Shang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jinzhi Niu
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Bi-Yue Ding
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jin-Jun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Waters J, Emerson B, Arribas P, McCulloch G. Dispersal Reduction: Causes, Genomic Mechanisms, and Evolutionary Consequences. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:512-522. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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67
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Xue WH, Liu YL, Jiang YQ, He SF, Wang QQ, Yang ZN, Xu HJ. Molecular characterization of insulin-like peptides in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 29:309-319. [PMID: 31967370 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Insulin-like peptides (ILPs) including insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and relaxin are evolutionarily conserved hormones in metazoans, and they are involved in diverse physiological processes. The migratory brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, encodes four ILP genes (Nlilp1, Nlilp2, Nlilp3 and Nlilp4) but their physiological roles are largely unknown. Sequence analysis showed that NlILP1 contained a relaxin-specific G protein-coupled receptor-binding motif and a variant motif of cysteine residues, and NlILP2 and NlILP4 resembled vertebrate IGFs. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene silencing showed that depletion of each of Nlilp1, 2 and 3 significantly delayed the developmental duration of nymphs, and this effect could be exacerbated by double or triple gene depletion. Depletion of Nlilp1, Nlilp2 or Nlilp3 induces the accumulation of glucose, trehalose and glycogen, which is contradictory to depletion of the insulin receptor (NlInR1) in the BPH. Depletion of Nlilp1 significantly enhanced starvation resistance in both females and males although its extent was smaller than NlInR1 depletion. A parental RNAi assay showed that depletion of each of Nlilp1-4 dramatically impaired female fecundity. These findings indicate that NlILP1-4 have redundant and distinct roles in physiological processes in the BPH, thereby enhancing our understanding of the contribution of each NlILP to the ecological success of this species in natural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- W-H Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Y-L Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Y-Q Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - S-F He
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Q-Q Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Z-N Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vaccine, Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, China
| | - H-J Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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Fu SJ, Zhang JL, Chen SJ, Chen HH, Liu YL, Xu HJ. Functional analysis of Ultrabithorax in the wing-dimorphic planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål, 1854) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Gene 2020; 737:144446. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2020.144446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Möst MH, Donabauer M, Arthofer W, Schlick-Steiner BC, Steiner FM. Towards an evolutionary history of European-Alpine Trechus ground beetles: Species groups and wing reduction. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 149:106822. [PMID: 32294546 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of flight triggered the rise of pterygote insects, but secondary flightlessness has evolved numerous times and is often associated with reduced gene flow among populations and patterns of diversification. With 85 species most of which are wing reduced, the ground beetle genus Trechus in the European Alps may be one such example. Here, we reconstructed a molecular phylogeny using 72 of these species based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences as a basis for reconstructing their evolutionary history. We rearranged the species into 20 monophyletic species groups, of which five are novel and 15 were already established but with different species allocated. Wing measurements revealed a strong tendency for wing reduction but also variation within and among species, with the few fully-winged species distributed across multiple species groups containing also wing-reduced species. Using character mapping and phylogenetic independent contrasts, we found that neither distribution area, body size, pigmentation, elevational zone, nor hygrophily explained wing status in our sample. Assessing five completely sampled clades, we inferred that each of their ancestors had most likely already been wing reduced. We discuss putative scenarios explaining this pattern and the presence of wing polymorphism across the phylogeny. One plausible scenario would be an already wing-reduced last common ancestor of all Trechus species and multiple regains of full wing length via back mutation and/or hybridisation. Alternatively and possibly more likely, the ancestors were either fully winged, with subsequent rapid and repeated wing reduction explaining the current wing-status pattern, or polymorphic, with long-term polymorphism or reselection acting on standing genetic variation explaining the recent fully-winged species. Either way, Trechus ground beetles are a promising, taxonomically and ecologically diverse system for studying the evolution of flightlessness. Areas for future research include morphological assessment of flight muscles, functional analysis of flight capability, and exploration of the mechanistic and genetic bases of wing and flight evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus H Möst
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | | | - Wolfgang Arthofer
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | | | - Florian M Steiner
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
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Renault D. A Review of the Phenotypic Traits Associated with Insect Dispersal Polymorphism, and Experimental Designs for Sorting out Resident and Disperser Phenotypes. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11040214. [PMID: 32235446 PMCID: PMC7240479 DOI: 10.3390/insects11040214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal represents a key life-history trait with several implications for the fitness of organisms, population dynamics and resilience, local adaptation, meta-population dynamics, range shifting, and biological invasions. Plastic and evolutionary changes of dispersal traits have been intensively studied over the past decades in entomology, in particular in wing-dimorphic insects for which literature reviews are available. Importantly, dispersal polymorphism also exists in wing-monomorphic and wingless insects, and except for butterflies, fewer syntheses are available. In this perspective, by integrating the very latest research in the fast moving field of insect dispersal ecology, this review article provides an overview of our current knowledge of dispersal polymorphism in insects. In a first part, some of the most often used experimental methodologies for the separation of dispersers and residents in wing-monomorphic and wingless insects are presented. Then, the existing knowledge on the morphological and life-history trait differences between resident and disperser phenotypes is synthetized. In a last part, the effects of range expansion on dispersal traits and performance is examined, in particular for insects from range edges and invasion fronts. Finally, some research perspectives are proposed in the last part of the review.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Renault
- Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution) UMR 6553, F-35000 Rennes, France; ; Tel.: +33-(0)2-2323-6627
- Institut Universitaire de France, 1 Rue Descartes, 75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France
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The miR-9b microRNA mediates dimorphism and development of wing in aphids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8404-8409. [PMID: 32217736 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919204117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Wing dimorphism is a phenomenon of phenotypic plasticity in aphid dispersal. However, the signal transduction for perceiving environmental cues (e.g., crowding) and the regulation mechanism remain elusive. Here, we found that aci-miR-9b was the only down-regulated microRNA (miRNA) in both crowding-induced wing dimorphism and during wing development in the brown citrus aphid Aphis citricidus We determined a targeted regulatory relationship between aci-miR-9b and an ABC transporter (AcABCG4). Inhibition of aci-miR-9b increased the proportion of winged offspring under normal conditions. Overexpression of aci-miR-9b resulted in decline of the proportion of winged offspring under crowding conditions. In addition, overexpression of aci-miR-9b also resulted in malformed wings during wing development. This role of aci-miR-9b mediating wing dimorphism and development was also confirmed in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum The downstream action of aci-miR-9b-AcABCG4 was based on the interaction with the insulin and insulin-like signaling pathway. A model for aphid wing dimorphism and development was demonstrated as the following: maternal aphids experience crowding, which results in the decrease of aci-miR-9b. This is followed by the increase of ABCG4, which then activates the insulin and insulin-like signaling pathway, thereby causing a high proportion of winged offspring. Later, the same cascade, "miR-9b-ABCG4-insulin signaling," is again involved in wing development. Taken together, our results reveal that a signal transduction cascade mediates both wing dimorphism and development in aphids via miRNA. These findings would be useful in developing potential strategies for blocking the aphid dispersal and reducing viral transmission.
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Fan Y, Li X, Mohammed AAAH, Liu Y, Gao X. miR-147b-modulated expression of vestigial regulates wing development in the bird cherry-oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:71. [PMID: 31969125 PMCID: PMC6977242 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-6466-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most aphids exhibit wing polyphenism in which wingless and winged morphs produce depending on the population density and host plant quality. Although the influence of environmental factors on wing polyphenism of aphids have been extensively investigated, molecular mechanisms underlining morph differentiation (i.e. wing development /degeneration), one downstream aspect of the wing polyphenism, has been poorly understood. RESULTS We examined the expression levels of the twenty genes involved in wing development network, and only vestigial (vg) showed significantly different expression levels in both whole-body and wall-body of third instar nymphs, with 5.4- and 16.14- fold higher expression in winged lines compared to wingless lines, respectively in Rhopalosiphum padi. vg expression was higher in winged lines compared to wingless lines in third, fourth instar nymphs and adults. Larger difference expression was observed in third (21.38-fold) and fourth (20.91-fold) instar nymphs relative to adults (3.12-fold). Suppression of vg using RNAi repressed the wing development of third winged morphs. Furthermore, dual luciferase reporter assay revealed that the miR-147 can target the vg mRNA. Modulation of miR-147b levels by microinjection of its agomir (mimic) decreased vg expression levels and repressed wing development. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that vg is essential for wing development in R. padi and that miR-147b modulates its expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinjun Fan
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193 People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiuxia Li
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193 People’s Republic of China
| | - Abd Allah A. H. Mohammed
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193 People’s Republic of China
| | - Ying Liu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193 People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiwu Gao
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193 People’s Republic of China
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73
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Zeng BP, Kang K, Wang HJ, Pan BY, Xu CD, Tang B, Zhang DW. Effect of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase knockdown on the expression of glycogen- and insulin-related genes in the rice brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY D-GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS 2020; 33:100652. [PMID: 31927198 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2019.100652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Nilaparvata lugens is a serious threat to rice growth. Glycogen metabolism is one of the important physiological processes of insects, which is mainly regulated by glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP). In the present study, trehalose content was significantly reduced at 72 h after NlGP and NlGS knockdown, whereas glucose content was significantly increased at both 48 h and 72 h after GS knockdown. RNAi combined with RNA-Seq was used to identify NlGP- and NlGS-related pathways and genes in N. lugens. A total of 593 genes were up-regulated and 5969 genes were down-regulated after NlGP and NlGS knockdown, respectively. Moreover, the NlGS-knockdown group was mapped to 10,967 pathways, whereas the NlGP-knockdown group was mapped to 7948 pathways, and the greatest differences between the groups were associated with carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid and energy metabolism. Meanwhile, 1800, 1217, and 1211 transcripts in the NlGP-knockdown group and 2511, 1666, and 1727 transcripts in the NlGS-knockdown group were involved in bioprocess, cellular ingredients and molecular function, respectively. Almost all these genes were down-regulated by either NlGP or NlGS knockdown, with significant down-regulation of the 6-trehalose phosphate synthase (TPS), trehalase (TRE), GS, GP, phosphoacetylglucosamine mutase (PGM, n = 2), Insulin receptors (InRs) and insulin-like peptides (Ilps) genes. These results have demonstrated that RNAi-mediated NlGP and NlGS knockdown could lead to content of trehalose and glucose out of balance, but have no obvious effect on glycogen content, and have suggested that GS plays more complex role in other metabolism pathway of N. lugens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Ping Zeng
- School of Biological and Agricultural Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Animal Resource in Chishui River Basin, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, Guizhou 563006, PR China
| | - Kui Kang
- School of Biological and Agricultural Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Animal Resource in Chishui River Basin, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, Guizhou 563006, PR China
| | - Hui-Juan Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310036, PR China
| | - Bi-Ying Pan
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310036, PR China
| | - Cai-Di Xu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310036, PR China
| | - Bin Tang
- School of Biological and Agricultural Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Animal Resource in Chishui River Basin, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, Guizhou 563006, PR China; College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310036, PR China
| | - Dao-Wei Zhang
- School of Biological and Agricultural Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Animal Resource in Chishui River Basin, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, Guizhou 563006, PR China.
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74
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Zhao Y, Huang G, Zhang W. Mutations in NlInR1 affect normal growth and lifespan in the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 115:103246. [PMID: 31618682 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.103246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens contains two insulin receptor homologues, designated NlInR1 and NlInR2. NlInR1 is strikingly homologous to the typical InR in insects and vertebrates, containing a ligand-activated intracellular tyrosine kinase catalytic domain. Herein, we report an optimized CRISPR/Cas9 system to induce mutations in the NlInR1 locus in BPH, consisting of a Cas9 plasmid that is specifically expressed in the germline via the Nlvasa promoter and versatile sgRNA expression plasmids under the control of the U6 promoter. We systematically evaluated the efficiency of injection mix compositions and demonstrated an appropriate combination of Cas9/sgRNA to target essential genes. Furthermore, we showed that homozygous mutants for the NlInR1 gene are early embryonic lethal, whereas heterozygous mutants grow more slowly, exhibit a severe reduction in body weight and wing size and live longer than the wild type. Interestingly, the severity of the mutant phenotype was different when targeting distinct important domains of the NlInR1 locus. The severity of the mutant phenotype is similar to that of insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway deficiencies in vertebrates, suggesting a conserved function of NlInR1 in the regulation of development and longevity. Global expression profiling suggests that NlInR1 regulates many cellular processes in BPH, including insulin resistance, phototransduction, metabolism, endocytosis, longevity, biosynthesis and protein processing. Our results also pave the way for understanding the precise molecular mechanism of insulin signaling in wing polyphenism in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Gang Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Wenqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
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75
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Xu N, Chen HH, Xue WH, Yuan XB, Xia PZ, Xu HJ. The MTase15 regulates reproduction in the wing-dimorphic planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 28:828-836. [PMID: 31069883 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
S-Adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent methyltransferases (SAMMTases) modulate important cellular and metabolic activities in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here, we functionally characterized an SAMMTase gene (MTase15) in the migratory brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, which is the most notorious rice pest in Asia. The cDNA sequence of MTase15 is 2764 nt in length with an open reading frame of 1218 nt encoding 405 amino acid residues. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that MTase15 was readily detected from egg to adult stages and extensively distributed in various body parts of adult females and males, with slightly high levels in ovary and testis, respectively. In addition, MTase15 was transcriptionally regulated by the insulin signalling pathway in BPH. RNA-interference-mediated knockdown of MTase15 (dsMtase15) resulted in deficiencies in vitellogenin synthesis and oogenesis, and female infertility. Males with Mtase15 knockdown retained the capability of producing sperms with normal viability, but less sperm was transferred to wild-type (wt) females during copulation, and eggs laid by these wt females arrested embryogenesis. These findings not only assign a functional role to MTase15, but also provide a link between the insulin signalling pathway and epigenetic regulation in BPH reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - H-H Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - W-H Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - X-B Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - P-Z Xia
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - H-J Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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76
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Yadav S, Stow AJ, Dudaniec RY. Detection of environmental and morphological adaptation despite high landscape genetic connectivity in a pest grasshopper (Phaulacridium vittatum). Mol Ecol 2019; 28:3395-3412. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Revised: 05/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sonu Yadav
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University North Ryde NSW Australia
| | - Adam J. Stow
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University North Ryde NSW Australia
| | - Rachael Y. Dudaniec
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University North Ryde NSW Australia
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77
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miR-34 modulates wing polyphenism in planthopper. PLoS Genet 2019; 15:e1008235. [PMID: 31242182 PMCID: PMC6615638 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Polyphenism is a successful strategy adopted by organisms to adapt to environmental changes. Brown planthoppers (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) develop two wing phenotypes, including long-winged (LW) and short-winged (SW) morphs. Though insulin receptor (InR) and juvenile hormone (JH) have been known to regulate wing polyphenism in BPH, the interaction between these regulators remains largely elusive. Here, we discovered that a conserved microRNA, miR-34, modulates a positive autoregulatory feedback loop of JH and insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) pathway to control wing polyphenism in BPH. Nlu-miR-34 is abundant in SW BPHs and suppresses NlInR1 by targeting at two binding sites in the 3'UTR of NlInR1. Overexpressing miR-34 in LW BPHs by injecting agomir-34 induces the development towards SW BPHs, whereas knocking down miR-34 in SW BPHs by injecting antagomir-34 induces more LW BPHs when another NlInR1 suppressor, NlInR2, is also suppressed simultaneously. A cis-response element of Broad Complex (Br-C) is found in the promoter region of Nlu-miR-34, suggesting that 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) might be involved in wing polyphenism regulation. Topic application of 20E downregulates miR-34 expression but does not change wing morphs. On the other hand, JH application upregulates miR-34 expression and induces more SW BPHs. Moreover, knocking down genes in IIS pathway changes JH titers and miR-34 abundance. In all, we showed that miRNA mediates the cross talk between JH, 20E and IIS pathway by forming a positive feedback loop, uncovering a comprehensive regulation mechanism which integrates almost all known regulators controlling wing polyphenism in insects.
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78
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Yang CH, Andrew Pospisilik J. Polyphenism - A Window Into Gene-Environment Interactions and Phenotypic Plasticity. Front Genet 2019; 10:132. [PMID: 30863426 PMCID: PMC6399471 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity describes the capacity of a single genotype to exhibit a variety of phenotypes as well as the mechanisms that translate environmental variation into reproducible phenotypic modifications. Polyphenism describes the unique sub-type of phenotypic plasticity where the outputs are not continuous, but rather discrete and multi-stable, resulting in several distinct phenotypes on the same genetic background. Epigenetic regulation underpins the stable phenotypic divergences that exemplify polyphenism and their evolutionary origin. Here, we briefly summarize the apparent ubiquity and diversity of polyphenisms across the animal kingdom. We briefly review the best characterized models across taxa and highlight the consistent themes both in their epidemiology and what little we know about molecular mechanisms. Finally, we highlight work that supports the possibility that humans may have a subtle polyphenism at the level of metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Hsiang Yang
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany.,Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
| | - John Andrew Pospisilik
- Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany.,Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
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