Suppression of Gene Juvenile Hormone Diol Kinase Delays Pupation in Moore.

Juvenile hormone diol kinase (JHDK) is a critical enzyme involved in juvenile hormone degradation in insects. In this study, in the Moore (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) transcriptional library was cloned. Stage-specific expression patterns of , , and as well as juvenile hormone titers were determined. The three tested enzymes participated in juvenile hormone degradation. Moreover, juvenile hormone titers peaked after larval-larval molts, consistent with a role for juvenile hormone in inhibition of metamorphosis. was subsequently suppressed using RNA interference (RNAi) to reveal its functions. Different concentrations of ds elicited the optimal interference efficiency at different life stages of . Suppression of decreased HvJHDK content and increased the juvenile hormone titer, thereby resulting in reduced triglyceride content, sharply declined survival rate, clearly lethal phenotypes, and extended larval growth. Moreover, suppression of upregulated and expression levels, suggesting that there is feedback regulation in the juvenile hormone metabolic pathway. Taken together, our findings provide molecular references for the selection of novel insecticidal targets.