Abstract
The ability to survive annual temperature minima could be a key determinant of distribution limits for insects under global climate change. Recent studies have suggested that insect aquaporins are indispensable for cellular water management under conditions that lead to dehydration and cold stress. Aquaporins are integral membrane water channel proteins in the major intrinsic protein superfamily and promote selected solutes and the movement of water across biological membranes. We cloned and characterized nine full-length aquaporins from Dendroctonus armandi (DaAqps), the most destructive forest pest in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province, China. Eight of the DaAqps belong to three classical aquaporin grades, including the Drosophila integral protein, the Pyrocoelia rufa integral protein, the entomoglyceroporins and one that belongs to the unorthodox grade of aquaporin 12-like channels. The DaAqps were increasingly expressed during different developmental stages and in different larval tissues, and expression peaked in mid-winter. They were tested under cold conditions for different lengths of time, and the expression of almost all DaAqps was down regulated with decreasing temperatures and long-term exposure to cold conditions. However, when the lowest temperatures were reached, the levels were immediately upregulated. These genes indicate that cold tolerance can improve through mortality responses at low temperatures after RNA interference of DaAqps. In our study, we analyzed the molecular response, expression patterns, and RNA interference of DaAqps and clarified the crucial role of protective compounds (aquaporins) underlying D. armandi cold tolerance and provide a new pest control method.
Highlights
Bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), especially Dendroctonus species have been shown to cause heavy damage to natural and coniferous forests
Identification of Aquaporin Genes In total, we identified nine sequences that were corresponded to the AQPs from five D. armandi transcriptomes
Sequence Characteristics We identified three N-terminal isoforms of Drosophila integral protein (Drip) for D. armandi (DaDrip) by 5 RACE PCR
Summary
Bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), especially Dendroctonus species have been shown to cause heavy damage to natural and coniferous forests. The Chinese white pine beetle Dendroctonus armandi Tsai and Li destroys Pinus armandi Franch and is considered to be the most destructive forest pest in the Qinling and Bashan Mountains of Shaanxi Province, China (Dai et al, 2014). Extremely low temperatures coupled with high altitudes challenge the survival of insects (Lee, 1989; Koštál and Šimek, 2000). Low winter temperatures have limited insect population size, activity, and development with global climate change (Rosenberger et al, 2017). The ability to survive annual low temperatures could be a key determinant of insect distribution (Ungerer et al, 1999). Winter climate can exert a strong selection pressure on physiological and behavioral attributes that promote overwinter survival (Kukal et al, 1991; Lombardero et al, 2000)
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