Koo Jinmo, Chen Xien, Palli Subba Reddy
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
Front Insect Sci. 2023 Feb 10;3:1124278. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1124278. eCollection 2023.
Verson's glands are segmental pairs of dermal glands attached to the epidermis in lepidopteran larvae. They produce macromolecules during intermolt period and empty them during each molt. Morphological, histochemical, developmental, and protein analysis studies have been conducted to determine the functions of Verson's glands. However, the exact role of Verson's glands remains unclear. In our previous study, a strain of transgenic fall armyworm, expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP) and Systemic RNA interference defective protein 1 (SID1) from was established to improve RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency. Unexpectedly, we found that GFP fluorescence was significantly brighter in Verson's glands than in other tissues. Also, RNAi efficiency improved more in Verson's glands than in other tissues. We took advantage of improved RNAi efficiency to explore the function of Verson's glands. RNA-seq analysis revealed that genes highly expressed in Verson's glands code for cuticular proteins, molting fluid proteins, hemolymph proteins, and antimicrobial peptides. Injection of dsRNA targeting essential genes, inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP), Actin, and vacuolar-type ATPase (VATPase) interfered with Verson's glands growth. These results revealed that Verson's glands may contribute to hemolymph, cuticle, molting fluid, and immune response during molting. This study also provide useful tools for future research in identifying the physiological role of Verson's glands in lepidopteran insects.
韦尔松氏腺是鳞翅目幼虫表皮上成对的节段性真皮腺。它们在蜕皮间期产生大分子，并在每次蜕皮时将其排空。已经进行了形态学、组织化学、发育学和蛋白质分析研究来确定韦尔松氏腺的功能。然而，韦尔松氏腺的确切作用仍不清楚。在我们之前的研究中，建立了一种表达绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）和来自的系统性RNA干扰缺陷蛋白1（SID1）的转基因秋粘虫品系，以提高RNA干扰（RNAi）效率。出乎意料的是，我们发现韦尔松氏腺中的GFP荧光比其他组织中的明显更亮。此外，韦尔松氏腺中的RNAi效率比其他组织提高得更多。我们利用提高的RNAi效率来探索韦尔松氏腺的功能。RNA测序分析表明，在韦尔松氏腺中高表达的基因编码表皮蛋白、蜕皮液蛋白、血淋巴蛋白和抗菌肽。注射靶向凋亡抑制因子（IAP）、肌动蛋白和液泡型ATP酶（VATPase）等必需基因的dsRNA会干扰韦尔松氏腺的生长。这些结果表明，韦尔松氏腺可能在蜕皮过程中对血淋巴、表皮、蜕皮液和免疫反应有贡献。这项研究也为未来鉴定韦尔松氏腺在鳞翅目昆虫中的生理作用的研究提供了有用的工具。
