A Novel Cuticular Protein-like Cpr21L Is Essential for Nymph Survival and Male Fecundity in the Brown Planthopper

Abstract

Cuticular proteins (CPs) are a large family and perform a variety of functions. However, the physiological roles of cuticle protein 21-like (Cpr21L) in the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens, BPH), one of the most destructive insect pests of rice, are largely unclear. In this study, Cpr21L was revealed to be expressed in both BPH nymphs and adults, and the mRNA expression level was much higher in male adults than female adults. Spatially, the expression of Cpr21L in the testis was higher than in the ovary. The RNA interference (RNAi) of Cpr21L seriously decreased nymph survival, and no individual survived 8 days post-dsCpr21L injection. The RNAi of Cpr21L in adults also decreased the fertility of males, especially in the dsCpr21L♂ × dsGFP♀ group. The average number of eggs laid by one female in this group significantly decreased by 50.1%, and the eggs’ hatchability decreased from 76.5% to 23.8% compared with the control (dsGFP♂ × dsGFP♀). Furthermore, observations under a stereomicroscope showed that the RNAi of Cpr21L severely impaired the development of the testes. Therefore, Cpr21L is essential for the nymphal survival and male fecundity of BPH, thus providing a possible target for pest control.

Drivers of genomic differentiation landscapes in populations of disparate ecological and geographical settings within mainland Apis cerana

“…We also observed genes that are involved in reproductive development and could therefore contribute to subspeciation (e.g., TTLL9 and CFAP52 in A. c. taiwanensis , Cpr21L and PAQR4 in A. c. guidensis , CCDC170 and Cappuccino in A. c. abansis , and KLHL10 in A. c. ta iwanensis and A. c. hainana ). Among them, the testis‐specific gene TTLL9 influences sperm motility (Konno et al., 2016); deficiency of CFAP52 can lead to male infertility (Dougherty et al., 2020); Cpr21L is essential for male fecundity (Chen et al., 2023); PAQR4 is related to oestrus synchronization and fertility in mammals (Laseca et al., 2022); CCDC170 is involved in sex steroid hormone pathways (Sapkota et al., 2017) and the loss of functional Cappuccino gene leads to female sterility (Yoo et al., 2015); and the KLHL10 gene plays an essential role in spermatogenesis in fruit flies and mouse (Arama et al., 2007; Yan et al., 2004). Interestingly, we also found that the d XY and F st of genomic regions covering those candidate genes demonstrated significantly higher values than the genomic background (Figure S18 in Appendix S1), suggesting that they may serve as barrier sites preventing gene flow between different honeybee subspecies.…”

Unraveling the Role of Cuticular Protein 3-like (HvCP3L) in the Chitin Pathway through RNAi and Methoxyfenozide Stress Response in Heortia vitessoides Moore

“…In research on Blattella germanica, silencing of BgCPLCP1 resulted in a notable increase in wing defects in adults, potentially allowing insecticides to penetrate the exposed wax layer of the cuticle, leading to higher mortality rates and decreased ecological adaptability [45]. Interference with cuticular protein Cpr21L in Nilaparvata lugens nymphs led to a high mortality rate and significantly affected testis development, severely impairing the reproductive capacity of male adults [46]. In this study, we injected 1 µL of dsRNA at a concentration of 5 µg/µL into L4 larvae.…”

Probing Transcriptional Crosstalk between Cryptochromes and Iron-sulfur Cluster Assembly 1 (MagR) in the Magnetoresponse of a Migratory Insect

“…To minimize the occurrence of off-target RNA interference (RNAi), the specific regions of the target genes selected for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) synthesis were carefully verified to ensure that there were no other matches in the transcriptome and genome databases of N. lugens . A green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene (GenBank: MF169984.1), which is an exogenous gene to N. lugens , was utilized as the control (ds GFP ) [ 75 ]. Their specific primers used to synthesize the dsRNA containing the T7 promoter sequence were designed using Oligo 7 software (Molecular Biology Insights, Inc., Cascade, CO, USA) ( Table S1 , underlined sequence indicates T7 promoter).…”