Abstract
BackgroundThe insect gustatory system plays a central role in the regulation of multiple physiological behaviors and the co-evolution between insects and their hosts. The gustatory receptors (Gr) are important to allow insects to sense their environment. It is critical to the selection of foods, mates and oviposition sites of insects. In this study, the Gr family genes of the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) were identified and analyzed, and their potential relationship to the fecundity of BPH was explored by RNA interference (RNAi).ResultsWe identified 32 putative Gr genes by analyzing transcriptome and genome data from BPH. Most of these Gr proteins have the typical structure of seven transmembrane domains. The BPH Gr genes (NlGrs) were expressed in virtually all tissues and stages, whilst higher transcript accumulations were found in adult stages and in the midguts of females. Based on the phylogenic analysis, we classified NlGrs into five potential categories, including 2 sugar receptors, 2 Gr43a-like receptors, 7 CO2 receptors, 5 bitter receptors and 13 NlGrs with unknown functions. Moreover, we found that 10 NlGrs have at least two alternative splicing variants, and obtained alternative splicing isoforms of 5 NlGrs. Finally, RNAi of 29 NlGrs showed that 27 of them are related to the transcript levels of two fecundity related genes vitellogenin and vitellogenin receptor.ConclusionsWe found 32 Gr genes in BPH, among which at least 27 are required for normal expression of fecundity markers of this insect pest. These findings provide the basis for the functional study of Grs and the exploration of potential genes involved in the monophagous character of BPH.
Highlights
The insect gustatory system plays a central role in the regulation of multiple physiological behaviors and the co-evolution between insects and their hosts
The brown planthopper (BPH) gustatory receptors (Gr) genes (NlGrs) were expressed in virtually all tissues and stages, whilst higher transcript accumulations were found in adult stages and in the midguts of females
We found that 10 NlGrs have at least two alternative splicing variants, and obtained alternative splicing isoforms of 5 NlGrs
Summary
The insect gustatory system plays a central role in the regulation of multiple physiological behaviors and the co-evolution between insects and their hosts. The Gr family genes of the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) were identified and analyzed, and their potential relationship to the fecundity of BPH was explored by RNA interference (RNAi) Insects interact with their environment primarily through a sensitive chemosensory system that can detect and discriminate a diverse array of chemicals. This system plays critical roles in the survival and reproductive success of insects, mediating their behavioral responses to food, mates, and oviposition sites [1, 2]. Most gustatory receptor proteins are extraordinarily divergent, sharing only 8–12% sequence identity at the amino acid level Some of this divergence could improve the diversity of Grs’ responses to ligands [7]. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
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