De novo assembly and characterization of antennal transcriptome reveal chemosensory system in Nysius ericae

Ya-Nan Zhang,Xiu-Yun Zhu,Qian Zhang,Cai-Yun Yin,Zhi-PingDong,Ling-Hua Zuo,Dao-Gui Deng,Liang Sun,Xiao-Ming Li 한국응용곤충학회 2016 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.19 No.4

Chemosensory system plays important roles in insect behaviors, some key genes governing chemosensation can potentially be used as novel targets for pest control. Nysius ericae (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) is a polyphagous insect pest found throughout Eurasia countries which causes damage to many important crops. Little is known about the chemosensory mechanisms of host location and mate choice in N. ericae at themolecular level. Here, we assembled the antennal transcriptome of N. ericae using Illumina sequencing technology. Analysis of the transcriptome data identified 148 candidate chemosensory genes, including 28 for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 16 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 83 odorant receptors (ORs), 12 ionotropic receptors (IRs), and 7 gustatory receptors (GRs). Our results greatly improve the gene inventory for N. ericae and provide valuable resources for analyzing the functions of some key genes. This information will aid in the development of better understanding of chemosensation in N. ericae, and indicate novel targets for managing its impact on agriculture. Chemosensory system plays important roles in insect behaviors, some key genes governing chemosensation can potentially be used as novel targets for pest control. Nysius ericae (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) is a polyphagous insect pest found throughout Eurasia countries which causes damage to many important crops. Little is known about the chemosensory mechanisms of host location and mate choice in N. ericae at themolecular level. Here, we assembled the antennal transcriptome of N. ericae using Illumina sequencing technology. Analysis of the transcriptome data identified 148 candidate chemosensory genes, including 28 for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 16 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 83 odorant receptors (ORs), 12 ionotropic receptors (IRs), and 7 gustatory receptors (GRs). Our results greatly improve the gene inventory for N. ericae and provide valuable resources for analyzing the functions of some key genes. This information will aid in the development of better understanding of chemosensation in N. ericae, and indicate novel targets for managing its impact on agriculture.Chemosensory system plays important roles in insect behaviors, some key genes governing chemosensation can potentially be used as novel targets for pest control. Nysius ericae (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) is a polyphagous insect pest found throughout Eurasia countries which causes damage to many important crops. Little is known about the chemosensory mechanisms of host location and mate choice in N. ericae at themolecular level. Here, we assembled the antennal transcriptome of N. ericae using Illumina sequencing technology. Analysis of the transcriptome data identified 148 candidate chemosensory genes, including 28 for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 16 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 83 odorant receptors (ORs), 12 ionotropic receptors (IRs), and 7 gustatory receptors (GRs). Our results greatly improve the gene inventory for N. ericae and provide valuable resources for analyzing the functions of some key genes. This information will aid in the development of better understanding of chemosensation in N. ericae, and indicate novel targets for managing its impact on agriculture.

Identification and tissue distribution of carboxylesterase (CXE) genes in Athetis lepigone (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by RNA-seq

Ya-Nan Zhang,Zhao-Qun Li,Xiu-Yun Zhu,Jia-Li Qian,Zhi-Ping Dong,Lu Xue,Peng He 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.4

Some of the metabolic enzyme carboxylesterases (CXEs) belong to the odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) family in insect species, and these play a key role in the degradation of acetate sex pheromones and host plant volatiles. Athetis lepigone is one of the most important agricultural insect pests in the world, can damage> 30 species of host plants, and has caused serious declines in the yield of summer corn in North China since 2011. According to our previous studies, the sex pheromone component of the pest is a binary blend of Z7–12:OAc and Z9–14:OAc at a ratio of 3:7. However, there are no reports regarding the degradation mechanism for these two sex pheromones. Herein, we firstly identified 20 candidate CXE genes in A. lepigone using our previous adult antennal RNA-seq data. Then, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and further conducted tissue distribution analyses to determine the possible functions of these genes. Our results showed that some AlepCXEs displayed adult antennae- predominant, male antennae-biased, or leg/wing-biased expression, indicating these AlepCXEs may have distinct physiological functions and play distinct roles in the degradation of sex pheromones, host plant volatiles, and/or other xenobiotics. These findings will help us to elucidate the exact functions of these genes in the future, and also provide possible target genes for the prevention and control of A. lepigone.

Insecticidal activities and biochemical properties of Pinellia ternata extracts against the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua

Ya-Nan Zhang,Peng He,Jian-Ping Xue,Qing Guo,Xiu-Yun Zhu,Li-Ping Fang,Jin-Bu Li 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.2

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a key pest of various agricultural crops in many countries throughout the world. The pest requires extensive use of pesticides and field-evolved resistances to conventional insecticides in China and other countries. Pinellia ternata Breit is native to the eastern part of Asia and foundmainly in China,which has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for N1000 years, but few studies have focused on the insecticidal activity of the P. ternate. In order to find natural products that could be used to control the pest in an safe, efficient and ecofriendlymanner,we first time analyzed the components of the anhydrous ethanolic extracts fromthe tubers of Pinellia ternate by using GC–MS method, and then investigated the insecticidal activities and biochemical mechanisms of the extracts against S. exigua. The result of GC–MS showed that 2-Methoxy-4-vinylphenolmay be an insecticidal active component, and we also found the extracts had notable insecticidal activity and disturbed the regular metabolismof S. exiguamainly through altering the activities of detoxification enzymes, digestive enzymes and protective enzymes. These properties suggest that the anhydrous ethanolic extracts from P. ternate can serve as a potential, efficient and ecofriendly S. exigua-control biopesticide.

Molecular identification and sex distribution of two chemosensory receptor families in Athetis lepigone by antennal transcriptome analysis

Ya-Nan Zhang,Ji-FangMa,Liang Sun,Zhi-PingDong,Zhao-Qun Li,Xiu-Yun Zhu,YiWang,LuWang,Dao-Gui Deng,Jin-Bu Li 한국응용곤충학회 2016 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.19 No.3

Chemosensory receptors play central roles in insect behavior and can potentially be used as new targets for pest control. Athetis lepigoneMöschler (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous insect pest found in many countries in Europe and Asia. However, systemic identification of the chemosensory receptors in the antennae has not been reported. In the present study, we obtained the antennal transcriptome of A. lepigone using Illumina sequencing technology and identified 80 candidate chemosensory receptors, including 61 transcripts encoding for odorant receptors (ORs) and 19 for ionotropic receptors (IRs). This result is similar to that reported for other lepidopteran species, suggesting that our approach successfully identified ORs and IRs of A. lepigone. RT-PCR was used to determine the sex distribution patterns of all OR and IR genes. Some OR and IR genes showed male- or femalespecific/ predominant expression. Our results help understand the functions of chemosensory receptor genes in A. lepigone as well as other insects, and suggest that these genes could be potential targets for developing environment-friendly behavioral antagonists and pesticides against A. lepigone.

Subcellular Characterization of Porcine Oocytes with Different Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Activities

Fu, Bo,Ren, Liang,Liu, Di,Ma, Jian-Zhang,An, Tie-Zhu,Yang, Xiu-Qin,Ma, Hong,Zhang, Dong-Jie,Guo, Zhen-Hua,Guo, Yun-Yun,Zhu, Meng,Bai, Jing Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.12

The in vitro maturation (IVM) efficiency of porcine embryos is still low because of poor oocyte quality. Although brilliant cresyl blue positive (BCB+) oocytes with low glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity have shown superior quality than BCB negative (-) oocytes with high G6PDH activity, the use of a BCB staining test before IVM is still controversial. This study aimed to shed more light on the subcellular characteristics of porcine oocytes after selection using BCB staining. We assessed germinal vesicle chromatin configuration, cortical granule (CG) migration, mitochondrial distribution, the levels of acetylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (AcH3K9) and nuclear apoptosis features to investigate the correlation between G6PDH activity and these developmentally related features. A pattern of chromatin surrounding the nucleoli was seen in 53.0% of BCB+ oocytes and 77.6% of BCB+ oocytes showed peripherally distributed CGs. After IVM, 48.7% of BCB+ oocytes had a diffused mitochondrial distribution pattern. However, there were no significant differences in the levels of AcH3K9 in the nuclei of blastocysts derived from BCB+ and BCB- oocytes; at the same time, we observed a similar incidence of apoptosis in the BCB+ and control groups. Although this study indicated that G6PDH activity in porcine oocytes was correlated with several subcellular characteristics such as germinal vesicle chromatin configuration, CG migration and mitochondrial distribution, other features such as AcH3K9 level and nuclear apoptotic features were not associated with G6PDH activity and did not validate the BCB staining test. In using this test for selecting porcine oocytes, subcellular characteristics such as the AcH3K9 level and apoptotic nuclear features should also be considered. Adding histone deacetylase inhibitors or apoptosis inhibitors into the culture medium used might improve the efficiency of IVM of BCB+ oocytes.

Identification and expression patterns of UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes from insect pest Athetis lepigone (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Ya-Nan Zhang,Ji-FangMa,Lu Xu,Zhi-PingDong,Ji-Wei Xu,Meng-Ya Li,Xiu-Yun Zhu 한국응용곤충학회 2017 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.20 No.1

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) genes,which belong to an ancient gene family and play very important roles in all organisms, encode extracellularly secreted proteins that are involved in the transfer of glycosyl residues fromactivated nucleotide sugars to acceptor hydrophobicmolecules (aglycones). Athetis lepigone is an important polyphagous pest worldwide, and since 2011 it has become one of the major maize pests in North China. However, there have been no studies on pesticides for the effective control of this pest. In this study,we identified 23 putative UGT genes in A. lepigone by analysing previous antennal transcriptomic data. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all of the AlUGTs are distributed within 11 of 14 insect UGT sub-families. Tissue expression analysis revealed that N70% of AlUGTs were primarily expressed in adult antennae, of which three (AlUGT33AD1, AlUGT40F6 and AlUGT40L4) and four (AlUGT33B18, AlUGT33F10, AlUGT40Q3 and AlUGT41D3) displayed male-biased and female-biased expression, respectively. SomeAlUGTs, however, had higher expression levels in non-antennal tissues. Our study is the first to identify UGT genes in A. lepigone,which will help us to elucidate the diverse functions of these genes, and ultimately provide potential targets that will facilitate the development of efficient and environmentally friendly pesticides against A. lepigone.

Molecular identification and expression patterns of carboxylesterase genes based on transcriptome analysis of the common cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Ya Nan Zhang,Jin-Bu Li,Peng He,Liang Sun,Zhao-Qun Li,Li-Ping Fang,Zhan-Feng Ye,Dao-Gui Deng,Xiu-Yun Zhu 한국응용곤충학회 2016 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.19 No.4

Carboxylesterases (CXEs) belong to a family of metabolic enzymes that are widely distributed in insects and other organisms and can rapidly degrade the components of sex pheromones and plant volatiles with an acetate functional group. The common cutworm, Spodoptera litura, is an important agricultural pest around the world, causing vast economic losses every year. The female sex pheromones of S. litura comprise four acetates, Z9, E11-14:OAc; Z9, E12-14:OAc; Z9-14:OAc; and E11-14:OAc, but the degradation mechanisms of these components are not well understood. By analysing previously obtained transcriptomic data of the sex pheromone glands,we identified a total of 24 putative CXE genes in S. litura. Gene expression patterns and phylogenetic analysis revealed 5 genes with antennae-specific or biased expression, and clusteredwith genes showed involvement in the degradation of sex pheromones or other detoxification in other insects. SlitCXE10was expressed specifically in the antennae of both sexes, and SlitCXE14, 17, 19, and 21 had high antenna biased expression. Interestingly, RT-PCR and qPCR tests indicated that SlitCXE24 had significantly higher expression in PG than in other tissue, and that it could be a potential candidate gene for sex pheromone degradation in PG. This study is the first to provide solid background information for the further elucidation of sex pheromone degradation, and ultimately provides potential targets for the disruption of sexual communication in S. litura for new pest management.