Discovery and functional identification of fecundity‐related genes in the brown planthopper by large‐scale RNA interference

Abstract

Recently, transcriptome and proteome data have increasingly been used to identify potential novel genes related to insect phenotypes. However, there are few studies reporting the large-scale functional identification of such genes in insects. To identify novel genes related to fecundity in the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, 115 genes were selected from the transcriptomic and proteomic data previously obtained from high- and low-fecundity populations in our laboratory. The results of RNA interference (RNAi) feeding experiments showed that 91.21% of the genes were involved in the regulation of vitellogenin (Vg) expression and may influence BPH fecundity. After RNAi injection experiments, 12 annotated genes were confirmed as fecundity-related genes and three novel genes were identified in the BPH. Finally, C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) was shown to play an important role in BPH fecundity. Knockdown of CtBP not only led to lower survival, underdeveloped ovaries and fewer eggs laid but also resulted in a reduction in Vg protein expression. The novel gene resources gained from this study will be useful for constructing a Vg regulation network and may provide potential target genes for RNAi-based pest control.

Transcriptional regulation of the vitellogenin gene through a fecundity‐related single nucleotide polymorphism within a GATA‐1 binding motif in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

“…We first identified that NlGATA‐1 had significantly higher expression in the HFP than in the LFP. We found it interesting that NlGATA‐1 showed extremely similar tissue‐specific and developmental expression patterns to Vg , which is generally regarded as a key molecular marker for insect fecundity (Parthasarathy et al ., ; Zhai et al ., ; Qiu et al ., ). GATA factors contain either one or two highly conserved CX 2 CX 17 CX 2 C zinc finger domains, and these subtypes have been reported to show opposite regulatory effects on the expression of Vg in the mosquito Aedes aegypti .…”

“…Each treatment was performed in triplicate. To determine the effect of dsG ATA-1 injection on the fecundity of N. lugens, each virgin female injected with dsRNA was paired with an untreated male adult and the offspring of each pair were counted 15 days later using a previously described method (Zhai et al, 2013;Qiu et al, 2016). Thirty pairs of adults were included in both the treatment group and control group.…”

Pancreatic lipase‐related protein 2 is essential for egg hatching in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

“…Genes involved in regulation of the reproductive process play crucial roles in insect fecundity. In N. lugens , vitellogenin and its receptor are indispensable for nutrient supply in the developing oocytes (Tufail et al ., ; Kai et al ., ), and N. lugens vitellogenin has been used as a predictor of potential fecundity (Dong et al ., ; Zhai et al ., ; Qiu et al ., ). A dicer1 gene, which is mostly responsible for micro‐RNA precursor processing, was demonstrated to be essential for oocyte maturation in the telotrophic ovary (Zhang et al ., ).…”

RNA interference as a gene silencing tool to controlTuta absolutain tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

“…Transgenic plants engineered to express insect dsRNAs emerged as a potential technology after two independent groups proved the concept of applying RNAi to control agricultural insect pests (Baum et al, 2007; Mao et al, 2007). This approach has been developed to control lepidopteran, coleopteran and hemipteran agricultural pests (Katoch et al, 2013; Li et al, 2011; Paim et al, 2012), including Helicoverpa armigera in cotton (Mao et al, 2011; Mao et al, 2015; Qi et al, 2015; Chikate et al, 2016) and tobacco (Zhu et al, 2012; Xiong et al, 2013; Tian et al, 2015; Mamta, Reddy & Rajam, 2015), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in maize (Baum et al, 2007; Fishilevich et al, 2016), Nilaparvata lugens in rice (Zha et al, 2011; Li et al, 2011; Yu et al, 2014; Qiu et al, 2016), Myzus persicae (Mao et al, 2015; Tzin et al, 2015) in Nicotiana benthamiana (Khan et al, 2013; Pitino et al, 2011) and Arabidopsis thaliana (Coleman, Pitino & Hogenhout, 2014; Li et al, 2015) and Sitobion avenae in wheat (Xu et al, 2014). However, the availability of methods that allow the screening and evaluation of candidate RNAi targets is a critical requisite for developing specific and efficient RNAi-based pest control.…”