Yu Xiudao, Marshall Hollie, Liu Yan, Xiong Yu, Zeng Xiangdong, Yu Haizhong, Chen Wei, Zhou Guchun, Zhu Bo, Ross Laura, Lu Zhanjun
Ganzhou Key Laboratory of Nanling Insect Biology/Ganzhou Key Laboratory of Greenhouse Vegetables/National Navel Orange Engineering Research Center, College of Life Sciences, Gannan Normal University, Jiangxi, China.
The Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Evolution. 2023 Apr 27;77(5):1203-1215. doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpad036.
The relationship of DNA methylation and sex-biased gene expression is of high interest, it allows research into mechanisms of sexual dimorphism and the development of potential novel strategies for insect pest control. The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is a major vector for the causative agents of Huanglongbing (HLB), which presents an unparalleled challenge to citrus production worldwide. Here, we identify the X chromosome of D. citri and investigate differences in the transcription and DNA methylation landscapes between adult virgin males and females. We find a large number of male-biased genes on the autosomes and a depletion of such on the X chromosome. We have also characterized the methylome of D. citri, finding low genome-wide levels, which is unusual for an hemipteran species, as well as evidence for both promoter and TE methylation. Overall, DNA methylation profiles are similar between the sexes but with a small number of differentially methylated genes found to be involved in sex differentiation. There also appears to be no direct relationship between differential DNA methylation and differential gene expression. Our findings lay the groundwork for the development of novel epigenetic-based pest control methods, and given the similarity of the D. citri methylome to some other insect species, these methods could be applicable across agricultural insect pests.
DNA甲基化与性别偏向性基因表达之间的关系备受关注，它有助于研究性别二态性的机制以及开发潜在的新型害虫防治策略。亚洲柑橘木虱（Diaphorina citri Kuwayama）是黄龙病（HLB）病原体的主要传播媒介，给全球柑橘生产带来了前所未有的挑战。在此，我们鉴定了亚洲柑橘木虱的X染色体，并研究了成年未交配雄性和雌性之间转录和DNA甲基化图谱的差异。我们发现常染色体上有大量雄性偏向性基因，而X染色体上此类基因较少。我们还对亚洲柑橘木虱的甲基化组进行了表征，发现全基因组水平较低，这对于半翅目物种来说并不常见，同时还发现了启动子和转座元件甲基化的证据。总体而言，两性之间的DNA甲基化谱相似，但发现少数差异甲基化基因参与性别分化。DNA甲基化差异与基因表达差异之间似乎也没有直接关系。我们的研究结果为开发基于表观遗传学的新型害虫防治方法奠定了基础，鉴于亚洲柑橘木虱甲基化组与其他一些昆虫物种的相似性，这些方法可能适用于农业害虫。
