Wan Gui-Jun, Wang Wen-Jing, Xu Jing-Jing, Yang Quan-Feng, Dai Ming-Jiang, Zhang Feng-Jiao, Sword Gregory A, Pan Wei-Dong, Chen Fa-Jun
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioelectromagetics, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2015 Jul 14;10(7):e0132966. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132966. eCollection 2015.
Although there are considerable reports of magnetic field effects (MFE) on organisms, very little is known so far about the MFE-related signal transduction pathways. Here we establish a manipulative near-zero magnetic field (NZMF) to investigate the potential signal transduction pathways involved in MFE. We show that exposure of migratory white-backed planthopper, Sogatella furcifera, to the NZMF results in delayed egg and nymphal development, increased frequency of brachypterous females, and reduced longevity of macropterous female adults. To understand the changes in gene expression underlying these phenotypes, we examined the temporal patterns of gene expression of (i) CRY1 and CRY2 as putative magnetosensors, (ii) JHAMT, FAMeT and JHEH in the juvenile hormone pathway, (iii) CYP307A1 in the ecdysone pathway, and (iv) reproduction-related Vitellogenin (Vg). The significantly altered gene expression of CRY1 and CRY2 under the NZMF suggest their developmental stage-specific patterns and potential upstream location in magnetic response. Gene expression patterns of JHAMT, JHEH and CYP307A1 were consistent with the NZMF-triggered delay in nymphal development, higher proportion of brachypterous female adults, and the shortened longevity of macropterous female adults, which show feasible links between hormone signal transduction and phenotypic MFE. By conducting manipulative NZMF experiments, our study suggests an important role of the geomagnetic field (GMF) in modulating development and physiology of insects, provides new insights into the complexity of MFE-magnetosensitivity interactions, and represents an initial but crucial step forward in understanding the molecular basis of cryptochromes and hormone signal transduction involved in MFE.
尽管有大量关于磁场效应（MFE）对生物体影响的报道，但迄今为止，人们对与MFE相关的信号转导途径知之甚少。在此，我们建立了一个可控的近零磁场（NZMF）来研究参与MFE的潜在信号转导途径。我们发现，将迁飞性白背飞虱，即褐飞虱，暴露于NZMF会导致卵和若虫发育延迟、短翅型雌虫频率增加以及长翅型雌虫成虫寿命缩短。为了解这些表型背后的基因表达变化，我们检测了以下基因的表达时间模式：（i）作为假定磁传感器的CRY1和CRY2；（ii）保幼激素途径中的JHAMT、FAMeT和JHEH；（iii）蜕皮激素途径中的CYP307A1；以及（iv）与繁殖相关的卵黄原蛋白（Vg）。NZMF下CRY1和CRY2基因表达的显著改变表明它们在发育阶段的特异性模式以及在磁响应中的潜在上游位置。JHAMT、JHEH和CYP307A1的基因表达模式与NZMF引发的若虫发育延迟、短翅型雌虫成虫比例增加以及长翅型雌虫成虫寿命缩短一致，这表明激素信号转导与表型MFE之间存在可行的联系。通过进行可控的NZMF实验，我们的研究表明地磁场（GMF）在调节昆虫发育和生理方面具有重要作用，为MFE - 磁敏感性相互作用的复杂性提供了新的见解，并且代表了在理解参与MFE的隐花色素和激素信号转导的分子基础方面迈出的初步但关键的一步。
