Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250000, China.
School of Clinical and Basic Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Jinan, 250117, China.
Parasit Vectors. 2023 Apr 1;16(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s13071-023-05733-0.
Aedes albopictus is an increasingly serious threat in public health due to it is vector of multiple arboviruses that cause devastating human diseases, as well as its widening distribution in recent years. Insecticide resistance is a serious problem worldwide that limits the efficacy of chemical control strategies against Ae. albopictus. Chitinase genes have been widely recognized as attractive targets for the development of effective and environmentally safe insect management measures.
Chitinase genes of Ae. albopictus were identified and characterized on the basis of bioinformatics search of the referenced genome. Gene characterizations and phylogenetic relationships of chitinase genes were investigated, and spatio-temporal expression pattern of each chitinase gene was evaluated using qRT-PCR. RNA interference (RNAi) was used to suppress the expression of AaCht10, and the roles of AaCht10 were verified based on phynotype observations, chitin content analysis and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain of epidermis and midgut.
Altogether, 14 chitinase-related genes (12 chitinase genes and 2 IDGFs) encoding 17 proteins were identified. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all these AaChts were classified into seven groups, and most of them were gathered into group IX. Only AaCht5-1, AaCht10 and AaCht18 contained both catalytic and chitin-binding domains. Different AaChts displayed development- and tissue-specific expression profiling. Suppression of the expression of AaCht10 resulted in abnormal molting, increased mortality, decreased chitin content and thinning epicuticle, procuticle and midgut wall of pupa.
Findings of the present study will aid in determining the biological functions of AaChts and also contribute to using AaChts as potential target for mosquito management.
白纹伊蚊由于是多种虫媒病毒的传播媒介，这些病毒会导致严重的人类疾病，加之近年来分布范围不断扩大，对公共卫生构成了日益严重的威胁。全世界的杀虫剂抗性都是一个严重的问题，限制了针对白纹伊蚊的化学控制策略的效果。几丁质酶基因已被广泛认为是开发有效和环境安全的昆虫管理措施的有吸引力的靶标。
根据参考基因组的生物信息学搜索，鉴定和表征了白纹伊蚊的几丁质酶基因。研究了几丁质酶基因的特征和系统发育关系，并通过 qRT-PCR 评估了每个几丁质酶基因的时空表达模式。使用 RNA 干扰（RNAi）抑制 AaCht10 的表达，并基于表型观察、几丁质含量分析和表皮和中肠的苏木精和伊红（H&E）染色来验证 AaCht10 的作用。
总共鉴定出 14 个几丁质酶相关基因（12 个几丁质酶基因和 2 个 IDGFs），编码 17 种蛋白质。系统发育分析表明，所有这些 AaChts 分为七个组，其中大多数聚集在第 IX 组。只有 AaCht5-1、AaCht10 和 AaCht18 同时含有催化和几丁质结合结构域。不同的 AaChts 表现出发育和组织特异性的表达谱。抑制 AaCht10 的表达会导致异常蜕皮、死亡率增加、几丁质含量降低以及蛹的表皮、原表皮和中肠壁变薄。
本研究的结果将有助于确定 AaChts 的生物学功能，并有助于将 AaChts 作为潜在的蚊子管理目标。
