School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
The Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 13;23(16):9064. doi: 10.3390/ijms23169064.
Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a key enzyme in the lipid synthesis pathway, however, its roles in insects remain largely unknown. Here, we firstly identified two genes from the transcriptome dataset of the general cutworm , which is a destructive insect pest of many crops. Both and were highly expressed in third instar larvae and in their fat bodies. Then, we successfully silenced in third instar larvae and the content of α-linolenic acid and triglyceride was significantly decreased. Besides that, the effect of FAS on the metamorphic development in was evaluated. The results indicate that after silencing , the survival rates of larvae decreased significantly compared to the control groups. Silencing in fifth instar larvae resulted in more malformed pupae and adults, and the emergence rates were significantly reduced. Furthermore, the ecdysone content in the haemolymph of fifth instar larvae was significantly decreased after silencing . In addition, knocking down significantly alters the expression of other key genes in the lipogenesis pathway, implying that FAS has an impact on the lipogenesis pathway. The present study deepens the understanding of FAS in insects and provides novel potential targets for managing insect pests.
脂肪酸合酶（FAS）是脂质合成途径中的关键酶，但其在昆虫中的作用尚不清楚。在这里，我们首次从普通菜蛾的转录组数据集鉴定出两个基因，普通菜蛾是许多作物的破坏性害虫。和在三龄幼虫及其脂肪体中高度表达。然后，我们成功地在三龄幼虫中沉默了，α-亚麻酸和三酰甘油的含量明显降低。此外，还评估了 FAS 对 变态发育的影响。结果表明，沉默后，与对照组相比，幼虫的存活率显著降低。在五龄幼虫中沉默导致更多畸形蛹和成虫，且羽化率显著降低。此外，沉默后五龄幼虫血淋巴中的蜕皮激素含量显著降低。此外，敲低显著改变了脂生成途径中其他关键基因的表达，表明 FAS 对脂生成途径有影响。本研究加深了对昆虫中 FAS 的理解，并为管理昆虫提供了新的潜在靶标。
