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Aketarawong N, Isasawin S, Laohakieat K, Thanaphum S. Genetic stability, genetic variation, and fitness performance of the genetic sexing Salaya1 strain for Bactrocera dorsalis, under long-term mass rearing conditions. BMC Genet 2020; 21:131. [PMID: 33339493 PMCID: PMC7747453 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-020-00933-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A genetic sexing strain (GSS) is an essential component for pest control using the sterile insect technique (SIT). A GSS is developed using a combination of Y-autosome translocation and a selectable marker such as pupal color, resulting in heterozygous males and homozygous females that possess wild-type brown pupae (wp+) and mutant white pupae (wp) alleles, respectively. The genetic sexing Salaya1 strain developed for Bactrocera dorsalis was evaluated using a clean stream and scaled-up for subsequent production lines (e.g., initiation, injection, and release). Colony management under small- and large-scale conditions for long-term rearing may affect the sexing system, genetic background, and fitness performance of the strain. Routine monitoring was applied to study genetic stability, genetic variation, and male mating competitiveness. Results The percentage of recombinants was significantly different between males (wp) and females (wp+), ranging between 0.21–0.43% and 0.01–0.04%, respectively. Using 106 bands from six ISSR markers, the genetic backgrounds of two generations (F40 and F108) of the clean stream were found to be almost identical (0.960), and between those two generations and the wild population, the similarities were 0.840 and 0.800, respectively. In addition, the sterile males performed well in competitive mating with fertile females (Relative Sterility Index = 0.67 ± 0.13). The rates of fliers calculated from both clean and release streams were higher than 0.95. Regarding the fitness of the Salaya1 strain, the fertility and pupal recovery were similar in all production lines. The sex ratio (Male/Female) distortion was also recorded. Conclusions The Salaya1 strain reared at the mass-rearing facility retained its genetic stability, genetic variation, behavior (e.g., competitive mating and flight ability), and traits related to fitness for at least 10 consecutive generations. The filter rearing system is effective at minimising the selection pressure while maintaining the genetic background and fitness performances of the clean stream. These characteristics were stable throughout the production lines. In addition, the production efficiency is comparable among the different production lines and other similar types of GSSs. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12863-020-00933-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidchaya Aketarawong
- Regional R&D Training Center for Insect Biotechnology (RCIB), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Phayathai, Ratchathewee, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Siriwan Isasawin
- Regional R&D Training Center for Insect Biotechnology (RCIB), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Phayathai, Ratchathewee, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Kamoltip Laohakieat
- Regional R&D Training Center for Insect Biotechnology (RCIB), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Phayathai, Ratchathewee, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Sujinda Thanaphum
- Regional R&D Training Center for Insect Biotechnology (RCIB), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Phayathai, Ratchathewee, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
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The transformer-2 and fruitless characterisation with developmental expression profiles of sex-determining genes in Bactrocera dorsalis and B. correcta. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17938. [PMID: 33087807 PMCID: PMC7578103 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74856-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination in tephritid fruit flies involves a signaling cascade of alternatively spliced genes. The Transformer (TRA) and Transformer-2 (TRA-2) complex establishes an autoregulatory loop switching sex-specific splicing of tra pre-mRNA in females. The TRA/TRA-2 complex also regulates the sex-specific splicing of downstream effector genes, doublesex (dsx) and fruitless (fru). In Ceratitis capitata, a Maleness-on the-Y (MoY) gene modulates sex-specifically spliced Cctra pre-mRNA and results in the breakdown of the Cctra autoregulatory loop in males. In this study, the tra-2 and fru genes were characterised in two key pests, Bactrocera dorsalis and B. correcta. The tra-2 genes showed high degrees of conservation among tephritids. The complex gene organisation for each of Bdfru and Bcfru were identified. There are sex-specific and non sex-specific transcripts generated by alternative promoters as found in Drosophila melanogaster and other insects. RNAi knockdown of Bdtra transcripts showed that BdTRA controls the sex-specific splicing of Bddsx and Bdfru pre-mRNAs. Developmental expression analysis shows that multiple splice variants of Bdtra and Bctra RNAs are present before and during cellular blastoderm formation and that the mature sex-specific variants become fixed later in embryogenesis. Furthermore, the BddsxM splice variants are found in early embryos at the beginning of gastulation, but BdfruM does not appear until the larval stage. We proposed that the zygotic tra loop is initiated in both female and male embryos before becoming automatised or abolished by MoY, respectively.
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Peng W, Yu S, Handler AM, Zhang H. Transcriptome Analysis of the Oriental Fruit Fly Bactrocera dorsalis Early Embryos. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11050323. [PMID: 32456171 PMCID: PMC7290859 DOI: 10.3390/insects11050323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is one of the most devastating and highly invasive agricultural pests world-wide, resulting in severe economic loss. Thus, it is of great interest to understand the transcriptional changes that occur during the activation of its zygotic genome at the early stages of embryonic development, especially the expression of genes involved in sex determination and the cellularization processes. In this study, we applied Illumina sequencing to identify B. dorsalis sex determination genes and early zygotic genes by analyzing transcripts from three early embryonic stages at 0–1, 2–4, and 5–8 h post-oviposition, which include the initiation of sex determination and cellularization. These tests generated 13,489 unigenes with an average length of 2185 bp. In total, 1683, 3201 and 3134 unigenes had significant changes in expression levels at times after oviposition including at 2–4 h versus 0–1 h, 5–8 h versus 0–1 h, and 5–8 h versus 2–4 h, respectively. Clusters of gene orthology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations were performed throughout embryonic development to better understand the functions of differentially expressed unigenes. We observed that the RNA binding and spliceosome pathways were highly enriched and overrepresented during the early stage of embryogenesis. Additionally, transcripts for 21 sex-determination and three cellularization genes were identified, and expression pattern analysis revealed that the majority of these genes were highly expressed during embryogenesis. This study is the first assembly performed for B. dorsalis based on Illumina next-generation sequencing technology during embryogenesis. Our data should contribute significantly to the fundamental understanding of sex determination and early embryogenesis in tephritid fruit flies, and provide gene promoter and effector gene candidates for transgenic pest-management strategies for these economically important species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Peng
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, China-Australia Joint Research Centre for Horticultural and Urban Pests, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (W.P.); (S.Y.)
- College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Shuning Yu
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, China-Australia Joint Research Centre for Horticultural and Urban Pests, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (W.P.); (S.Y.)
| | - Alfred M. Handler
- USDA/ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, 1700 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA;
| | - Hongyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, China-Australia Joint Research Centre for Horticultural and Urban Pests, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; (W.P.); (S.Y.)
- Correspondence:
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Nguantad S, Chumnanpuen P, Thancharoen A, Vongsangnak W, Sriboonlert A. Identification of potential candidate genes involved in the sex determination cascade in an aquatic firefly, Sclerotia aquatilis (Coleoptera, Lampyridae). Genomics 2020; 112:2590-2602. [PMID: 32061895 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2020.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Sexual differentiation, dimorphism, and courtship behavior are the downstream developmental programs of the sex determination cascade. The sex determination cascade in arthropods often involves key genes, transformer (tra), doublesex (dsx), transformer-2 (tra2), and fruitless (fru). These genes are conserved among insect taxa; however, they have never been reported in fireflies. In this study, the candidate genes for these key genes were identified for the first time in an aquatic firefly, Sclerotia aquatilis using transcriptome analysis. A comparative protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of sex determination cascade was reconstructed for S. aquatilis based on a network of a model insect, Drosophila melanogaster. Subsequently, a sex determination cascade in S. aquatilis was proposed based on the amino acid sequence structures and expression profiles of these candidates. This study describes the first efforts toward understanding the molecular control of sex determination cascade in fireflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarintip Nguantad
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Pramote Chumnanpuen
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; Omics Center for Agriculture, Bioresources, Food, and Health, Kasetsart University (OmiKU), Bangkok 10900, Thailand
| | - Anchana Thancharoen
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Wanwipa Vongsangnak
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; Omics Center for Agriculture, Bioresources, Food, and Health, Kasetsart University (OmiKU), Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
| | - Ajaraporn Sriboonlert
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
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Zhao S, Xing Z, Liu Z, Liu Y, Liu X, Chen Z, Li J, Yan R. Efficient somatic and germline genome engineering of Bactrocera dorsalis by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2019; 75:1921-1932. [PMID: 30565410 DOI: 10.1002/ps.5305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), a very destructive insect pest of many fruits and vegetables, is widespread in many Asian countries. To facilitate control of this pest, it is essential to investigate its genetics and gene function using targeted gene disruption. RESULTS Here, we describe successful targeted mutagenesis of the white and transformer genes in B. dorsalis through use of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system. Co-injection of the white sgRNA and Cas9 mRNA into B. dorsalis embryos caused eye color change, and the white mutations in the germline were heritable. CRISPR-mediated knockout of the sex determination gene transformer (tra) in B. dorsalis resulted in a male-biased sex ratio and adult flies with abnormal outer and interior reproductive organs. Small indels and substitutions were induced by CRIRPR for both genes. CONCLUSION Our data demonstrate that somatic and germline genome engineering of the pest B. dorsalis can be performed efficiently using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, opening the door to the use of the CRISPR-mediated method for functional annotations of genes in B. dorsalis and for its population control using, for example, such as gene drive. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santao Zhao
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Zengzhu Xing
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Zhonggeng Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Yanhui Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Xiangrui Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Zhe Chen
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Jiahui Li
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
| | - Rihui Yan
- College of Plant Protection, Hainan University/Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Hainan University), Ministry of Education, Haikou, China
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Petrella V, Aceto S, Colonna V, Saccone G, Sanges R, Polanska N, Volf P, Gradoni L, Bongiorno G, Salvemini M. Identification of sex determination genes and their evolution in Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera, Nematocera). BMC Genomics 2019; 20:522. [PMID: 31238870 PMCID: PMC6593557 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-5898-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Nematocera) are important vectors of several pathogens, including Leishmania parasites, causing serious diseases of humans and dogs. Despite their importance as disease vectors, most aspects of sand fly biology remain unknown including the molecular basis of their reproduction and sex determination, aspects also relevant for the development of novel vector control strategies. RESULTS Using comparative genomics/transcriptomics data mining and transcriptional profiling, we identified the sex determining genes in phlebotomine sand flies and proposed the first model for the sex determination cascade of these insects. For all the genes identified, we produced manually curated gene models, developmental gene expression profile and performed evolutionary molecular analysis. We identified and characterized, for the first time in a Nematocera species, the transformer (tra) homolog which exhibits both conserved and novel features. The analysis of the tra locus in sand flies and its expression pattern suggest that this gene is able to autoregulate its own splicing, as observed in the fruit fly Ceratitis capitata and several other insect species. CONCLUSIONS Our results permit to fill the gap about sex determination in sand flies, contribute to a better understanding of this developmental pathway in Nematocera and open the way for the identification of sex determining orthologs in other species of this important Diptera sub-order. Furthermore, the sex determination genes identified in our work also provide the opportunity of future biotechnological applications to control natural population of sand flies, reducing their impact on public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Petrella
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Serena Aceto
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Vincenza Colonna
- National Research Council, Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Saccone
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Remo Sanges
- Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Naples, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Nikola Polanska
- Department of Parasitology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Volf
- Department of Parasitology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Luigi Gradoni
- Unit of Vector-borne Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Gioia Bongiorno
- Unit of Vector-borne Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Salvemini
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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Luo Y, Zhao S, Li J, Li P, Yan R. Isolation and Molecular Characterization of the Transformer Gene From Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2017; 17:3755290. [PMID: 28931159 PMCID: PMC5469387 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iex031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
transformer (tra) is a switch gene of sex determination in many insects, particularly in Dipterans. However, the sex determination pathway in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), a very destructive pest on earth, remains largely uncharacterized. In this study, we have isolated and characterized one female-specific and two male-specific transcripts of the tra gene (Bcutra) of B. cucurbitae. The genomic structure of Bcutra has been determined and the presence of multiple conserved Transformer (TRA)/TRA-2 binding sites in Bcutra has been found. BcuTRA is highly conservative with its homologues in other tephritid fruit flies. Gene expression analysis of Bcutra at different developmental stages demonstrates that the female transcript of Bcutra appears earlier than the male counterparts, indicating that the maternal TRA is inherited in eggs and might play a role in the regulation of TRA expression. The conservation of protein sequence and sex-specific splicing of Bcutra and its expression patterns during development suggest that Bcutra is probably the master gene of sex determination of B. cucurbitae. Isolation of Bcutra will facilitate the development of a genetic sexing strain for its biological control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Luo
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China (; ; ; ; )Corresponding author, e-mail: , and
| | - Santao Zhao
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China (; ; ; ; )Corresponding author, e-mail: , and
| | - Jiahui Li
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China (; ; ; ; )Corresponding author, e-mail: , and
| | - Peizheng Li
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China (; ; ; ; )Corresponding author, e-mail: , and
| | - Rihui Yan
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China (; ; ; ; )Corresponding author, e-mail: , and
- Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China ()
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