Abstract
The evolution of resistance to insecticides is well known to be closely associated with the overexpression of detoxifying enzymes. Although the role of glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes in insecticide resistance has been widely reported, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, one GST gene (GSTu1) and its antisense transcript (lnc-GSTu1-AS) were identified and cloned, and both of them were upregulated in several chlorantraniliprole-resistant Plutella xylostella populations. GSTu1 was confirmed to be involved in chlorantraniliprole resistance by direct degradation of this insecticide. Furthermore, we demonstrated that lnc-GSTu1-AS interacted with GSTu1 by forming an RNA duplex, which masked the binding site of miR-8525-5p at the GSTu1-3′UTR. In summary, we revealed that lnc-GSTu1-AS maintained the mRNA stability of GSTu1 by preventing its degradation that could have been induced by miR-8525-5p and thus increased the resistance of P. xylostella to chlorantraniliprole. Our findings reveal a new noncoding RNA-mediated pathway that regulates the expression of detoxifying enzymes in insecticide-resistant insects and offer opportunities for the further understanding of the mechanisms of insecticide and drug resistance.
Highlights
Insect pests cause serious damage to the crop yield directly and indirectly, which costs billions of dollars annually [1]
GSTu1 was identified to be upregulated in several chlorantraniliproleresistant P. xylostella populations and was confirmed to be involved in chlorantraniliprole resistance by direct degradation of this insecticide
Lnc-GSTu1-AS transcribed from the opposite DNA strand to GSTu1 was identified to be able to enhance the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) stability of GSTu1 by blocking miRNA activity, and increased the resistance of P
Summary
Insect pests cause serious damage to the crop yield directly and indirectly, which costs billions of dollars annually [1]. Awareness of the importance of integrated pest management (IPM) is growing, the use of chemical insecticides is still the main strategy for controlling insect pests [2, 3]. Xylostella (L.), a major pest of cruciferous crops, is one of the most resistant insects globally [6, 7]. Chlorantraniliprole is an anthranilic diamide insecticide that shows remarkable efficacy in the control of several orders of insect pests, especially lepidopteran pests, but has low toxicity towards untargeted organisms [8, 9]. In recent years, P. xylostella has developed high-level resistance to chlorantraniliprole in many countries [10,11,12]
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