Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jul 10;7(1):4985. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-05360-7.
Among its other biological roles, acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7), encoded by two ace in most insects, catalyses the breakdown of acetylcholine, thereby terminating synaptic transmission. ace1 encodes the synaptic enzyme and ace2 has other essential actions in many insect species, such as Chilo suppressalis and Plutella xylostella. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, has been domesticated for more than two thousand years and its aces have no history of pesticide exposure. Here, we investigated the functional differences between two ace genes, BmAce1 and BmAce2, in the silkworm. qPCR analysis indicated that BmAce1 is highly expressed in muscle and BmAce2 is more ubiquitously expressed among tissues and enriched in the head. Both genes were separately suppressed using chemically synthesized siRNAs. The mRNA abundance of the two ace genes was significantly reduced to about 13% - 75% of the control levels after siRNA injection. The AChE activities were decreased to 32% to 85% of control levels. Silencing BmAce2 resulted in about 26% mortality, faster and higher than the 20% in the siBmAce1-treated group. Silencing BmAce1 impacted motor control and development to a greater extent than silencing BmAce2, although both treatment groups suffered motor disability, slowed development and reduced cocoons. Both genes have essential, differing biological significance.
在其其他生物学作用中，乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE，EC 3.1.1.7），由大多数昆虫中的两个 ace 编码，催化乙酰胆碱的分解，从而终止突触传递。ace1 编码突触酶，ace2 在许多昆虫物种中具有其他重要作用，如斜纹夜蛾和小菜蛾。家蚕已经驯化了两千多年，其 ace 没有农药暴露的历史。在这里，我们研究了两种 ace 基因（BmAce1 和 BmAce2）在家蚕中的功能差异。qPCR 分析表明，BmAce1 在肌肉中高度表达，而 BmAce2 在组织中更为普遍表达，并在头部富集。使用化学合成的 siRNA 分别抑制这两个基因。注射 siRNA 后，两个 ace 基因的 mRNA 丰度显著降低至对照水平的 13% - 75%。AChE 活性降低至对照水平的 32% - 85%。沉默 BmAce2 导致约 26%的死亡率，比 siBmAce1 处理组的 20%更快更高。沉默 BmAce1 对运动控制和发育的影响比沉默 BmAce2 更大，尽管两组治疗都患有运动障碍、发育缓慢和减少茧。这两个基因都具有重要的、不同的生物学意义。
