Abstract
Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, commonly known as Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), transmits the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), one of the causative agents of Huanglongbing (HLB) to citrus trees. Within ACP populations, three adult abdominal color polymorphisms: gray/brown, blue/green, and orange/yellow have been described. Despite the economic importance of this insect, the molecular mechanisms governing reproduction and vitellogenesis are not well understood. The current results describe the expression patterns of VgA1-like and Kr-h1, ovary morphology, and oviposition behavior in two different ACP morphotypes. Our results showed that VgA1-like exhibited female sex-specific expression, was upregulated more in blue/green than gray/brown females, and increased in expression with age only in blue/green morphs. The transcription factor Kr-h1, associated with reproduction in some insect species, was expressed in both sexes, was upregulated in 1 and 7 days old blue/green compared to gray/brown females, and exhibited reduced expression by 14 days of age in both morphotypes. Our results demonstrated an association between VgA1-like expression, oocyte development, and the blue green abdominal color of D. citri, which were linked to higher reproductive output than observed in gray/brown females. Overall, this study described the importance of the genes VgA1-like and Kr-h1 in D. citri vitellogenesis, and explained the mechanisms underlying differential reproductive performance among D. citri abdominal color morphs.
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