Shi Yan-Xia, Bian Dan-Dan, Liu Xin, Jiang Jun-Jie, Zhu Xi-Rong, Zhang Dai-Zhen, Liu Qiu-Ning, Tang Bo-Ping, Dai Li-Shang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Bioresources of Saline Soils, Jiangsu Synthetic Innovation Center for Coastal Bio-agriculture, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Bioresources and Environmental Protection, School of Wetlands, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224007, People's Republic of China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, People's Republic of China; College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing 210009, People's Republic of China.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Bioresources of Saline Soils, Jiangsu Synthetic Innovation Center for Coastal Bio-agriculture, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Bioresources and Environmental Protection, School of Wetlands, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng 224007, People's Republic of China; Anhui Key Laboratory of Resource Insect Biology and Innovative Utilization, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, People's Republic of China.
Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2024 Dec;52:101320. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101320. Epub 2024 Aug 28.
Zinc is a significant source of heavy metal pollution that poses risks to both human health and biodiversity. Excessive concentrations of zinc can hinder the growth and development of insects and trigger cell death through oxidative damage. The midgut is the main organ affected by exposure to heavy metals. The silkworm, a prominent insect species belonging to the Lepidoptera class and widely used in China, serves as a model for studying the genetic response to heavy metal stress. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was employed to investigate detoxification-related genes in the midgut that are induced by zinc exposure. A total of 11,320 unigenes and 14,723 transcripts were identified, with 553 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) detected, among which 394 were up-regulated and 159 were down-regulated. The Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that 452 DEGs were involved in 18 biological process subclasses, 14 cellular component subclasses and 8 molecular functional subclasses. Furthermore, the KEGG analysis demonstrated enrichment in pathways such as Protein digestion, absorption and Lysosome. Validation of the expression levels of 9 detoxification-related DEGs through qRT-PCR confirmed the accuracy of the RNA-seq results. This study not only contributes new insights into the detoxification mechanisms mechanism of silkworms against zinc contamination, but also serves as a foundation basis for understanding the molecular detoxification processes in lepidopteran insects.
锌是重金属污染的重要来源，对人类健康和生物多样性都构成风险。过量的锌会阻碍昆虫的生长发育，并通过氧化损伤引发细胞死亡。中肠是受重金属暴露影响的主要器官。家蚕是鳞翅目一种重要的昆虫物种，在中国广泛使用，是研究对重金属胁迫的遗传反应的模型。在本研究中，采用高通量测序技术研究锌暴露诱导的中肠中与解毒相关的基因。共鉴定出11320个单基因和14723个转录本，检测到553个差异表达基因（DEG），其中394个上调，159个下调。基因本体论（GO）分析表明，452个DEG参与18个生物过程亚类、14个细胞组成亚类和8个分子功能亚类。此外，KEGG分析表明在蛋白质消化、吸收和溶酶体等途径中富集。通过qRT-PCR对9个与解毒相关的DEG的表达水平进行验证，证实了RNA-seq结果的准确性。本研究不仅为家蚕抗锌污染的解毒机制提供了新的见解，也为理解鳞翅目昆虫的分子解毒过程奠定了基础。
