Expression of Small RNA in Aphis gossypii and Its Potential Role in the Resistance Interaction with Melon

Abstract

BackgroundThe regulatory role of small RNAs (sRNAs) in various biological processes is an active area of investigation; however, there has been limited information available on the role of sRNAs in plant-insect interactions. This study was designed to identify sRNAs in cotton-melon aphid (Aphis gossypii) during the Vat-mediated resistance interaction with melon (Cucumis melo).Methodology/Principal FindingsThe role of miRNAs was investigated in response to aphid herbivory, during both resistant and susceptible interactions. sRNA libraries made from A. gossypii tissues feeding on Vat+ and Vat− plants revealed an unexpected abundance of 27 nt long sRNA sequences in the aphids feeding on Vat+ plants. Eighty-one conserved microRNAs (miRNAs), twelve aphid-specific miRNAs, and nine novel candidate miRNAs were also identified. Plant miRNAs found in the aphid libraries were most likely ingested during phloem feeding. The presence of novel miRNAs was verified by qPCR experiments in both resistant Vat+ and susceptible Vat− interactions. The comparative analyses revealed that novel miRNAs were differentially regulated during the resistant and susceptible interactions. Gene targets predicted for the miRNAs identified in this study by in silico analyses revealed their involvement in morphogenesis and anatomical structure determination, signal transduction pathways, cell differentiation and catabolic processes.Conclusion/SignificanceIn this study, conserved and novel miRNAs were reported in A. gossypii. Deep sequencing data showed differences in the abundance of miRNAs and piRNA-like sequences in A. gossypii. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that A. gossypii miRNAs were differentially regulated during resistant and susceptible interactions. Aphids can also ingest plant miRNAs during phloem feeding that are stable in the insect.

Small RNAs from Bemisia tabaci Are Transferred to Solanum lycopersicum Phloem during Feeding

“…These longer sRNAs were indeed also observed in the whitefly nymphs (Figure 2). A similar sRNA length distribution has previously been found in adult whiteflies (Guo et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2016) and similar sized sRNAs (between 26 and 30 nts) have been reported for other insects e.g., cotton-melon aphid ( Aphis gossypii ) or the brown planthopper ( Nilaparvata lugens ; Chen et al, 2012; Sattar et al, 2012). These longer sRNAs are assumed to be Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and are known to be a large class of non-coding RNAs in animals, specifically linked to genome stability in germ-line cells and silence transposons (Vagin et al, 2006).…”

Genome‐wide identification, expression profiling, and target gene analysis of microRNAs in the Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), vectors of tospoviruses (Bunyaviridae)

“…Employing this approach, our study revealed 130 conserved and nine novel miRNAs from T. tabaci . The size distributions of the high‐quality reads were varied from 18 to 28 nts in our library and the peak was at the 25 nt , which was on par with previous studies (Ge et al., 2013; Liang, Feng, Zhou, & Gao, 2013; Sattar et al., 2012). Our study indicated the unique read distributes of 26–28 nts with a relative lower abundance, which is common in many small RNA libraries (Chang et al., 2016; Jagadeeswaran et al., 2010; Surridge et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2013), indicating the presence of piRNAs.…”

“…Previous miRNA studies on cotton/melon aphid, A. gossypii also reported six plant miRNA family (Sattar et al., 2012). They also showed that such microRNAs were transformed into the aphid tissues (especially in gut contents) during the phloem sap ingestion.…”

Methods of application and dosages of insecticides forAphis gossypii(Glover) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the yellow melon

“…Entre os fatores de produção que podem afetar negativamente a cultura, destaca-se o ataque de pragas de importância econômica global, como o pulgão (SATTAR et al, 2012). No Brasil, apesar de ser considerada uma praga secundária, pode ser extremamente prejudicial, pois suga a seiva das plantas, provoca enrugamento de brotações e pode transmitir vírus (GUIMARÃES; MOURA; OLIVEIRA, 2013).…”

“…Esse manejo rotacional é importante, pois o desenvolvimento de resistência do pulgão pelo uso contínuo de inseticidas já foi mencionado (SATTAR et al, 2012).…”