Al-Wathiqui N, Dopman E B, Lewis S M
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
Insect Mol Biol. 2016 Oct;25(5):629-45. doi: 10.1111/imb.12249. Epub 2016 Jun 22.
Mating triggers a cascade of physiological and behavioural responses in females that persist after copulation. In insects, seminal fluid proteins contained within male ejaculates are known to initiate some responses, but our understanding of how females mediate these reactions remains limited. Few studies have examined postmating transcriptional changes within ejaculate-receiving organs within females or how these changes might depend on the identity of the male. Furthermore, whereas males of many insects transfer packaged ejaculates, transcriptional dynamics have mainly been examined in dipterans, in which males transfer a free ejaculate. To identify genes that may be important in mediating female physiological responses in a spermatophore-producing species, we sequenced the transcriptomes of the ejaculate-receiving organs and examined postmating gene expression within and between pheromone strains of the European corn borer (ECB) moth, Ostrinia nubilalis. After within-strain mating, significant differential expression of 978 transcripts occurred in the female bursa or its associated bursal gland, including peptidases, transmembrane transporters, and hormone processing genes; such genes may potentially play a role in postmating male-female interactions. We also identified 14 transcripts from the bursal gland that were differentially expressed after females mated with cross-strain males, representing candidates for previously observed postmating reproductive isolation between ECB strains.
交配会引发雌性一系列生理和行为反应，这些反应在交配后依然持续。在昆虫中，已知雄性射精中的精液蛋白会引发一些反应，但我们对雌性如何调节这些反应的了解仍然有限。很少有研究考察过雌性接受射精器官内交配后的转录变化，或者这些变化如何可能取决于雄性的身份。此外，虽然许多昆虫的雄性会传递包装好的射精物，但转录动态主要在双翅目昆虫中进行了研究，在双翅目昆虫中，雄性传递的是自由射精物。为了鉴定在产生精包的物种中可能对调节雌性生理反应很重要的基因，我们对接受射精器官的转录组进行了测序，并研究了欧洲玉米螟（ECB）蛾Ostrinia nubilalis信息素品系内和品系间交配后的基因表达。在品系内交配后，雌性交尾囊或其相关的交尾囊腺中有978个转录本发生了显著差异表达，包括肽酶、跨膜转运蛋白和激素加工基因；这些基因可能在交配后的雌雄相互作用中发挥作用。我们还鉴定出了交尾囊腺中的14个转录本，在雌性与跨品系雄性交配后这些转录本发生了差异表达，它们代表了先前观察到的欧洲玉米螟品系间交配后生殖隔离的候选基因。
