Abstract
Simple SummaryThe juvenile hormone is essential for insect growth, development, and reproduction. Isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase is a key isomerase involved in the synthesis of the juvenile hormone. This study evaluates the effect of the targeted silencing of the SfIPPI gene on the reproduction of Sogatella furcifera (white-backed planthopper). We found that SfIPPI silencing significantly inhibits the ovarian development and egg production in female adults of S. furcifera and significantly inhibits the transcription of downstream genes in the juvenile hormone synthesis pathway. Our data provide insight into the function of juvenile hormone biosynthetic pathway genes in insect reproduction, which could be a potential target to control and prevent agricultural pests.The juvenile hormone (JH) is crucial for insect reproduction, and isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase (IPPI) is a key enzyme in the JH synthesis pathway. However, few studies have investigated how IPPI regulates insect reproduction. This study identifies and characterizes the IPPI gene (SfIPPI) from the important agricultural pest Sogatella furcifera. A phylogenetic analysis reveals a high homology of SfIPPI with the IPPI amino acid sequences of Laodelphax striatellus and Nilaparvata lugens (Stål). Furthermore, SfIPPI is expressed at various developmental stages and in various tissues of S. furcifera, and is significantly higher on the 5th day of adult emergence and in integument tissue, while lower levels are found on the 3rd day of adult emergence and in fat body and gut tissue. After silencing SfIPPI using RNA interference, the ovarian development is significantly inhibited and the fecundity is significantly reduced when compared with the control group. Additionally, SfIPPI silencing significantly decreases the expression levels of downstream JH signal transduction pathway genes (SfJHAMT, SfFAMeT, and SfKr-h1) and SfVg. Our findings are helpful in elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of insect reproduction through genes in the JH synthesis pathway, and they provide a theoretical basis for the development of pest control treatments targeting SfIPPI.
Highlights
The juvenile hormone (JH) is a sesquiterpenoid compound synthesized in the corpora allata of insects [1,2]
isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase (IPPI) is a crucial enzyme in the mevalonate pathway in JH synthesis, which catalyzes the conversion of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) to DMAPP [11] and is crucial for JH biosynthesis
Our results showed that the ovarian development of females treated with dsIPPI was significantly inhibited and the number of eggs laid was significantly lower compared to the control group, which was consistent with the function of other genes in the JH synthesis pathway
Summary
The juvenile hormone (JH) is a sesquiterpenoid compound synthesized in the corpora allata of insects [1,2]. It is essential for regulating the physiological processes of insect growth, metamorphosis, reproduction, and immunity [3,4,5,6,7,8]. A study of the molecular characteristics and function of Aedes aegypti AaIPPI revealed that it was important for JH synthesis because changes in the level of AaIPPI mRNA affected JH biosynthesis [14]. There are relatively few studies investigating how IPPIs regulate insect reproduction
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