Genome‐wide identification of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with malathion resistance in Bactrocera dorsalis

Abstract

BACKGROUND Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in the regulation of biological processes and have been identified in many species including insects. However, the association between lncRNAs and pesticide resistance in insect species such as Bactrocera dorsalis is unknown. RESULTS RNA‐seq was performed on malathion resistant (MR1) and susceptible (MS) strains of B. dorsalis and a total of 6171 lncRNAs transcripts were identified. These included 3728 lincRNAs, 653 antisense lncRNAs, 1402 intronic lncRNAs, and 388 sense lncRNAs. A total of 40 and 52 upregulated lncRNAs were found in females and males of the MR1 strain compared to 54 and 49 in the same sexes of the MS strain, respectively. Twenty‐seven of these lncRNAs showed the same trend of expression in both females and males in the MR1 strain, in which 15 lncRNAs were upregulated and 12 were downregulated. RT‐qPCR results indicated that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were associated with malathion resistance. The lnc15010.10 and lnc3774.2 were highly expressed in the cuticle of the MR1 strain, indicating that these two lncRNAs may be related to malathion resistance. RNAi of lnc3774.2 and a bioassay showed that malathion resistance was possibly influenced by changes in the B. dorsalis cuticle. CONCLUSION LncRNAs of B. dorsalis potentially related to the malathion resistance were identified. Two lncRNAs appear to influence malathion resistance via modulating the structure, or components, of the cuticle. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry

lnc94638 is a testis‐specific long non‐coding RNA involved in spermatozoa formation in Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett)

“…lncRNAs participate in many fundamental biological processes, such as immune responses (Peng et al ., 2010), epigenetics (Hassan et al ., 2015), pesticide resistance (Meng et al ., 2021), and genomic imprinting (Chen et al ., 2016a). With the improvement of deep transcriptomic sequencing technologies, studies of insect lncRNAs have rapidly increased (Li et al ., 2019).…”

Functional investigation of lncRNAs and target cytochrome P450 genes related to spirotetramat resistance in Aphis gossypii Glover

“…Several approaches have been applied for lncRNA target prediction. For example, coding genes 100 kb upstream and downstream of identified lncRNAs can be screened for cis ‐acting lncRNA target prediction 33 . An efficient tool for predicting P450 gene targets of lncRNAs, LncTar is also used to detect lncRNA–mRNA interactions 51 .…”

“…For example, coding genes 100 kb upstream and downstream of identified lncRNAs can be screened for cis-acting lncRNA target prediction. 33 An efficient tool for predicting P450 gene targets of lncRNAs, LncTar is also used to detect lncRNA-mRNA interactions. 51 The binding power between lncRNAs and P450 genes was confirmed using the website RNA-Protein Interaction Prediction (RPISeq, http://pridb.gdcb.…”

“…Numerous studies have documented that several factors, including terminal end‐ cis ‐acting elements and transcription factors participating in signaling cascades, modulate expression of P450 genes 30,31 . Among them, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), key regulators of P450 gene expression in insecticide‐resistant pests, have been extensively researched 32,33 . miRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that bind to a short complementary sequence of a target mRNA, regulating expression of that mRNA 34 .…”

“…30,31 Among them, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), key regulators of P450 gene expression in insecticide-resistant pests, have been extensively researched. 32,33 miRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that bind to a short complementary sequence of a target mRNA, regulating expression of that mRNA. 34 In Culex pipiens pallens, miR-71 targets CYP325BG3 to downregulate its expression in deltamethrin-resistant mosquitoes.…”