Department of Entomology, MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Haidian, Beijing, China.
Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA, USA.
Pest Manag Sci. 2022 Aug;78(8):3540-3550. doi: 10.1002/ps.6997. Epub 2022 Jun 8.
The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is a worldwide polyphagous pest, causing huge economic losses in vegetable, cotton and corn crops, among others. Owing to long-term exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins, evolution of resistance has been detected in this pest. As a conservative and effective neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA) has an important role in insect growth and development. In this study, we investigated the regulatory functions of DA and its associated non-coding RNA in metamorphosis in H. armigera.
Expression profiles indicated that DA and DA pathway genes were highly expressed during larval-pupal metamorphosis in H. armigera. RNA interference and pharmacological experiments confirmed that tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopa decarboxylase, vesicular amine transporter and DA receptor 2 are critical genes related to the development of H. armigera from larvae to pupae. We also found that miR-14 and miR-2766 targeted the 3' untranslated region to post-transcriptionally regulate HaTH function. Application of miR-2766 and miR-14 antagomirs significantly increased levels of HaTH transcripts and proteins, while injection of miR-2766 and miR-14 agomirs not only suppressed messenger RNA and protein levels of HaTH, but also resulted in defective pupation in H. armigera.
These results suggest that DA deficiency inhibits larval-pupal metamorphosis in H. armigera. Potentially, DA pathway genes and their microRNAs could be used as a novel target for H. armigera management. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
棉铃虫（Helicoverpa armigera）是一种世界性的多食性害虫，除其他作物外，还会给蔬菜、棉花和玉米等作物造成巨大的经济损失。由于长期接触苏云金芽孢杆菌（Bt）毒素，该害虫已经出现了抗药性的进化。多巴胺（DA）作为一种保守而有效的神经递质，在昆虫的生长发育中起着重要作用。在本研究中，我们研究了 DA 及其相关非编码 RNA 在棉铃虫变态发育中的调控作用。
表达谱分析表明，DA 及其相关通路基因在棉铃虫幼虫-蛹变态过程中高度表达。RNA 干扰和药理学实验证实，酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）、多巴脱羧酶、囊泡胺转运体和 DA 受体 2 是与棉铃虫幼虫发育为蛹相关的关键基因。我们还发现，miR-14 和 miR-2766 靶向 3'UTR 来对 HaTH 功能进行转录后调控。miR-2766 和 miR-14 拮抗剂的应用显著增加了 HaTH 转录本和蛋白的水平，而 miR-2766 和 miR-14 激动剂的注射不仅抑制了 HaTH 的信使 RNA 和蛋白水平，而且导致棉铃虫变态失败。
这些结果表明，DA 缺乏抑制了棉铃虫的幼虫-蛹变态。DA 通路基因及其 microRNAs 可能成为棉铃虫治理的一个新靶点。© 2022 化学工业协会。
