U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center of Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
J Insect Physiol. 2012 Aug;58(8):1159-65. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.06.005. Epub 2012 Jun 13.
Insect neuropeptide hormones represent more than 90% of all insect hormones. The PBAN/pyrokinin family is a major group of insect neuropeptides, and they are expected to be found from all insect groups. These species-specific neuropeptides have been shown to have a variety of functions from embryo to adult. PBAN is well understood in moth species relative to sex pheromone biosynthesis, but other potential functions are yet to be determined. Recently, we focused on defining the PBAN gene and peptides in fire ants in preparation for an investigation of their function(s). RNA interference (RNAi) technology is a convenient tool to investigate unknown physiological functions in insects, and it is now an emerging method for development of novel biologically-based control agents as alternatives to insecticides. This could be a paradigm shift that will avoid many problems associated with conventional chemical insecticides. In this study, we selected the PBAN gene and its neuropeptide products as an RNAi target from two insect groups; a social insect, the fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) and a non-social insect, the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea). Both insects are economically important pests. We report negative impacts after PBAN dsRNA treatment to suppress PBAN gene transcription during developmental and adult stages of both species, e.g. increased adult and larval mortality, delayed pupal development and decreased sex pheromone production in the moth. This is an important first step in determining the multiple functions of the PBAN gene in these two insects. This work illustrates the variety of phenotypic effects observed after RNAi silencing of the PBAN gene and suggests the possibility of novel biologically-based insect pest control methods.
昆虫神经肽激素占所有昆虫激素的 90%以上。PBAN/吡咯啉家族是昆虫神经肽的主要群体，预计在所有昆虫群体中都能找到。这些具有物种特异性的神经肽已被证明具有从胚胎到成年的多种功能。与性信息素生物合成相比，PBAN 在鳞翅目昆虫中得到了很好的理解，但其他潜在功能仍有待确定。最近，我们专注于定义火蚁中的 PBAN 基因和肽，为研究其功能做准备。RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 技术是一种研究昆虫未知生理功能的便捷工具，它现在是一种新兴的方法，可以开发新型基于生物学的控制剂作为杀虫剂的替代品。这可能是一种范式转变，可以避免与传统化学杀虫剂相关的许多问题。在这项研究中，我们选择了 PBAN 基因及其神经肽产物作为两种昆虫的 RNAi 靶标；一种是社会性昆虫，红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta），另一种是非社会性昆虫，玉米穗虫（Helicoverpa zea）。这两种昆虫都是具有经济重要性的害虫。我们报告了 PBAN dsRNA 处理对两种物种发育和成虫阶段 PBAN 基因转录的负面影响，例如增加成虫和幼虫死亡率、延迟蛹发育以及减少蛾的性信息素产生。这是确定 PBAN 基因在这两种昆虫中的多种功能的重要第一步。这项工作说明了 PBAN 基因 RNAi 沉默后观察到的各种表型效应，并表明了新型基于生物学的昆虫害虫控制方法的可能性。
