Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece.
Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Science, Biomedical Sciences Research Centre "Alexander Fleming", 16672 Vari, Greece.
Genes (Basel). 2021 Feb 28;12(3):355. doi: 10.3390/genes12030355.
In most diploid organisms, mating is a prerequisite for reproduction and, thus, critical to the maintenance of their population and the perpetuation of the species. Besides the importance of understanding the fundamentals of reproduction, targeting the reproductive success of a pest insect is also a promising method for its control, as a possible manipulation of the reproductive system could affect its destructive activity. Here, we used an integrated approach for the elucidation of the reproductive system and mating procedures of the olive fruit fly, . Initially, we performed a RNAseq analysis in reproductive tissues of virgin and mated insects. A comparison of the transcriptomes resulted in the identification of genes that are differentially expressed after mating. Functional annotation of the genes showed an alteration in the metabolic, catalytic, and cellular processes after mating. Moreover, a functional analysis through RNAi silencing of two differentially expressed genes, and , resulted in a significantly reduced oviposition rate. This study provided a foundation for future investigations into the olive fruit fly's reproductive biology to the development of new exploitable tools for its control.
在大多数二倍体生物中，交配是繁殖的前提条件，因此对其种群的维持和物种的延续至关重要。除了了解生殖基本原理的重要性之外，针对害虫的生殖成功进行靶向控制也是一种很有前途的方法，因为对生殖系统的可能操纵可能会影响其破坏性活动。在这里，我们采用了一种综合方法来阐明地中海果蝇的生殖系统和交配程序。最初，我们对处女和交配昆虫的生殖组织进行了 RNAseq 分析。比较转录组结果确定了交配后差异表达的基因。对这些基因的功能注释表明，交配后代谢、催化和细胞过程发生了改变。此外，通过 RNAi 沉默两个差异表达基因和对其功能进行分析，导致产卵率显著降低。这项研究为今后研究地中海果蝇的生殖生物学奠定了基础，也为开发新的可利用工具来控制地中海果蝇提供了基础。
