Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212018, China.
Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Zhenjiang 212018, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 30;21(13):4656. doi: 10.3390/ijms21134656.
Walker () causes significant damage to mulberry every year, and we currently lack effective and environmentally friendly ways to control the pest. Chitin synthase (CHS) is a critical regulatory enzyme related to chitin biosynthesis, which plays a vital role in the growth and development of insects. The function of CHS in , however, has not been studied. In this study, two chitin synthase genes ( and ) were screened from our previously created transcriptome database. The complete coding sequences of the two genes are 5,955 bp and 5,896 bp, respectively. Expression of and could be detected throughout all developmental stages. Relatively high expression levels of occurred in the head and integument and was most highly expressed in the midgut. Moreover, silencing of and using dsRNA reduced expression of downstream chitin metabolism pathway genes and resulted in abnormal development and wings stretching, but did not affect normal pupating of larvae. Furthermore, the inhibitor of chitin synthesis diflubenzuron (DFB) was used to further validate the RNAi result. DFB treatment significantly improved expression of , except , and their downstream genes, and also effected molting at 48 h (62% mortality rate) and 72 h (90% mortality rate), respectively. These results show that and play critical roles in the development and wing stretching in adults, indicating that the genes are attractive potential pest control targets.
舞毒蛾每年都会对桑树造成严重危害，而我们目前缺乏有效且环保的方法来控制这种害虫。几丁质合成酶（CHS）是与几丁质生物合成相关的关键调节酶，它在昆虫的生长和发育中起着至关重要的作用。然而，CHS 在舞毒蛾中的功能尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们从先前创建的转录组数据库中筛选出了两个几丁质合成酶基因（和）。这两个基因的完整编码序列分别为 5955bp 和 5896bp。在所有发育阶段都可以检测到和的表达。在头部和表皮中相对高水平表达，而在中肠中表达水平最高。此外，使用 dsRNA 沉默和会降低下游几丁质代谢途径基因的表达，导致幼虫发育异常和翅膀伸展，但不影响幼虫正常化蛹。此外，还使用几丁质合成抑制剂氟虫脲（DFB）进一步验证了 RNAi 的结果。DFB 处理显著提高了除之外的、及其下游基因的表达，并且在 48 小时（死亡率 62%）和 72 小时（死亡率 90%）分别影响蜕皮。这些结果表明和在舞毒蛾成虫的发育和翅膀伸展中起着关键作用，表明这些基因是有吸引力的潜在害虫控制靶标。
