Neuropeptides and G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in the Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)

Abstract

The red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is a devastating, invasive pest that causes serious damages to palm trees, and its invasiveness depends on its strong ability of physiological and behavioral adaptability. Neuropeptides and their receptors regulate physiology and behavior of insects, but these protein partners have not been identified from many insects. Here, we systematically identified neuropeptide precursors and the corresponding receptors in the red palm weevil, and analyzed their tissue expression patterns under control conditions and after pathogen infection. A total of 43 putative neuropeptide precursors were identified, including an extra myosuppressin peptide was identified with amino acid substitutions at two conserved sites. Forty-four putative neuropeptide receptors belonging to three classes were also identified, in which neuropeptide F receptors and insulin receptors were expanded compared to those in other insects. Based on qRT-PCR analyses, genes coding for several neuropeptide precursors and receptors were highly expressed in tissues other than the nervous system, suggesting that these neuropeptides and receptors play other roles in addition to neuro-reception. Some of the neuropeptides and receptors, like the tachykininrelated peptide and receptor, were significantly induced by pathogen infection, especially sensitive to Bacillus thuringiensis and Metarhizium anisopliae. Systemic identification and initial characterization of neuropeptides and their receptors in the red palm weevil provide a framework for further studies to reveal the functions of these ligand-and receptor-couples in regulating physiology, behavior, and immunity in this important insect pest species.

Identification and Characterization of Neuropeptides and Their G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in the Cowpea Aphid Aphis craccivora

“…In recent years, the continuous innovation of next-generation sequencing technology and bioinformatics technology has greatly promoted the prediction and identification of insect neuropeptides and their receptors (6)(7)(8)(9). However, only Acyrthosiphon pisum has so far been comprehensively investigated for neuropeptides and their receptors in aphids (10)(11)(12).…”

Haplotype-resolved genome assembly enables gene discovery in the red palm weevilRhynchophorus ferrugineus

“…Second, we compared our BRAKER genome annotation against curated sets of RPW genes that are potentially relevant for pest mitigation strategies 9, 11, 48 . Transcript identifiers for chemosensory genes were obtained from Antony et al 9 and parsed from their transcriptome assembly (GDKA01000000).…”

“…To reduce the economic and biodiversity losses caused by the RPW, there has been growing interest to identify RPW genes that can be used to guide strategies for pest management in this species. Previous gene discovery efforts for the RPW have mainly relied on transcriptome data, using different sequencing platforms, as well as a range of tissues, developmental stages, and strains 6–11 . Transcriptomics is a cost-effective strategy of gene discovery compared to whole-genome sequencing since only a fraction of the genome is represented in mature transcripts.…”

“…This hybrid assembly reported an unusually high rate of gene family expansion in the RPW genome relative to other beetle species, and also reported a very high number of duplicated genes in the BUSCO gene set, which are expected to be present in a single copy in most organisms 14 . To overcome limitations of previous transcriptome-based gene discovery efforts in the RPW 6–11 and to evaluate the correctness of the previously-reported RPW genome assembly 13 , here we report a haplotype-resolved (“phased”) diploid genome assembly from an independent RPW sample generated using 10x Genomics linked-read sequencing. We provide evidence that the previously-reported RPW genome hybrid assembly contains a large proportion of artifactually duplicated sequences that have arisen from multiple haplotypes being scaffolded into a single haploid representation of the genome 15 .…”

Production of a biopesticide on host and Non-Host serine protease inhibitors for red palm weevil in palm trees

“…RPW, commonly known as red palm weevil , Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is documented as tremendously antagonistic palm pests with known broad economic and environmental impacts when appearing in a different geographical region ( Zhang H et al, 2020 ). RPW has a harmful social influence in the Middle-East region, where the palm tree is connected with culture and religion ( El-Fattah AYA et al, 2020 ).…”