Gupta Ayushi, Nair Suresh
Plant-Insect Interaction Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India.
Current Address: Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH 93BF, UK.
Curr Genomics. 2023 Dec 28;24(6):354-367. doi: 10.2174/0113892029276542231205065843.
The brown planthopper (BPH) is a monophagous sap-sucking insect pest of rice that is responsible for massive yield loss. BPH populations, even when genetically homogenous, can display a vast range of phenotypes, and the development of effective pest-management strategies requires a good understanding of what generates this phenotypic variation. One potential source could be epigenetic differences.
With this premise, we explored epigenetic diversity, structure and differentiation in field populations of BPH collected across the rice-growing seasons over a period of two consecutive years. Using a modified methylation-sensitive restriction assay (MSRA) and CpG island amplification-representational difference analysis, site-specific cytosine methylation of five stress-responsive genes () was estimated, for identifying methylation-based epiallelic markers and epigenetic variation across BPH populations.
Using a cost-effective and rapid protocol, our study, for the first time, revealed the epigenetic component of phenotypic variations in the wild populations of BPH. Besides, results showed that morphologically indistinguishable populations of BPH can be epigenetically distinct.
Screening field-collected BPH populations revealed the presence of previously unreported epigenetic polymorphisms and provided a platform for future studies aimed at investigating their significance for BPH. Furthermore, these findings can form the basis for understanding the contribution(s) of DNA methylation in providing phenotypic plasticity to BPH.
褐飞虱是一种专食性吸食水稻汁液的害虫，会导致大量减产。褐飞虱种群即使在基因同质的情况下，也能表现出广泛的表型，而制定有效的害虫管理策略需要深入了解产生这种表型变异的原因。一个潜在来源可能是表观遗传差异。
基于此前提，我们对连续两年水稻生长季节采集的褐飞虱田间种群的表观遗传多样性、结构和分化进行了探索。使用改良的甲基化敏感限制性分析（MSRA）和CpG岛扩增代表性差异分析，估计了五个应激反应基因的位点特异性胞嘧啶甲基化，以鉴定基于甲基化的表观等位基因标记和褐飞虱种群间的表观遗传变异。
通过一种经济高效且快速的方案，我们的研究首次揭示了褐飞虱野生种群表型变异的表观遗传成分。此外，结果表明形态上难以区分的褐飞虱种群在表观遗传上可能存在差异。
对田间采集的褐飞虱种群进行筛选，发现了先前未报道的表观遗传多态性，并为未来研究其对褐飞虱的意义提供了一个平台。此外，这些发现可为理解DNA甲基化在赋予褐飞虱表型可塑性方面的作用奠定基础。
