Effects of short-term heat shock and physiological responses to heat stress in two Bradysia adults, Bradysia odoriphaga and Bradysia difformis

Abstract

Bradysia odoriphaga and Bradysia difformis are devastating pests of vegetable, ornamental crops and edible mushrooms causing significant losses. Temperature may be an important factor restricting their population abundance in the summer. To determine the effects of short-term heat shock on adults, their survival, longevity and fecundity data were collected, and antioxidant responses and heat shock protein expression levels were examined. Our results indicated that the survival rates of Bradysia adults decreased rapidly after heat shock ≥36 °C, and the longevity and reproductive capacities were significantly inhibited, indicating that short-term heat shock had lethal and sub-lethal effects. Moreover, the lipid peroxidation levels of B. difformis and B. odoriphaga increased dramatically at 36 °C and 38 °C, respectively. Four antioxidant enzymes activities of B. odoriphaga were greater than those of B. difformis at 38 °C. Additionally, hsp70 and hsp90 expression levels significantly increased after heat stress, and higher expression levels of B. difformis and B. odoriphaga were discovered at 36 and 38 °C respectively, indicating their different heat tolerance levels. Overall, short-term heat shock (≥36 °C) caused significantly adverse effects on Bradysia adults, indicating that it could be applied in pest control, and antioxidant system and hsp genes played important roles in their heat tolerance levels.

Integrating GWAS and Transcriptomics to Identify the Molecular Underpinnings of Thermal Stress Responses in Drosophila melanogaster

“…One way the genetic makeup of an organism influences thermal tolerance is by modifying gene expression changes in response to temperature change (Stucki et al, 2017). Transcriptional responses to thermal variability have been described at various levels, including whole transcriptomic studies of specific stress treatments (e.g., Qin et al, 2005;Sørensen et al, 2005Sørensen et al, , 2016Teets et al, 2012), targeted experiments for specific candidate genes (e.g., Frost in Goto, 2001;Sinclair et al, 2007;Zhu et al, 2017), and comparisons of transcriptomic responses to thermal stressors both among (e.g., in damselflies; Lancaster et al, 2016) and within populations (e.g., Telonis-Scott et al, 2009). A consistent theme from these studies is that changing temperatures can cause substantial changes in gene expression.…”

Comparative transcriptome analysis of the rice leaf folder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) to heat acclimation

“…Mean land surface air temperature has increased by 1.53°C from 1850 to 1900 to 2006-2015 [1]. Insects are prone to heat-related injuries [2][3][4]. The increased temperature significantly affects performance of insect populations [5,6].…”

Effects of variable maternal temperature on offspring development and reproduction of Rhopalosiphum padi, a serious global pest of wheat

“…The denaturation of proteins caused by extreme temperatures is harmful for the development and reproduction of aphids (Campbell et al ., ). The lipid peroxidation levels, antioxidant enzymes activities, and the expression of heat shock protein genes were affected by high‐temperature stress in Bradysia odoriphaga and Bradysia diformis (Zhu et al ., ). The improvement of thermotolerance in insects often has other physiological consequences (Shen et al ., ); for example, there is a trade‐off between survival and reproduction in insects under heat stress conditions (Dahlhoff et al ., ; Chen et al ., ; Grumiaux et al ., ).…”

“…The denaturation of proteins caused by extreme temperatures is harmful for the development and reproduction of aphids (Campbell et al, 1974). The lipid peroxidation levels, antioxidant enzymes activities, and the expression of heat shock protein genes were affected by high-temperature stress in Bradysia odoriphaga and Bradysia diformis (Zhu et al, 2017). Fig.…”