Sun Chao, Shao Yongqi, Iqbal Junaid
Analysis Center of Agrobiology and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Institute of Sericulture and Apiculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Sci Data. 2025 Feb 12;12(1):250. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-04520-z.
The midgut and fat body of insects control key physiological processes, including growth, digestion, metabolism, and stress response. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) is a promising way to reveal organ complexity at the cellular level, yet data for lepidopteran insects are lacking. We utilized snRNA-seq to assess cellular diversity in the midgut and fat body of Spodoptera frugiperda. Our study identified 20 distinct clusters in the midgut, including enterocytes, enteroendocrine, stem-like cells, and muscle cells, and 27 clusters in the fat body, including adipocytes, hemocytes, and epithelial cells. This dataset, containing all identified cell types in midgut and fat body, is valuable for characterizing the cellular composition of these organs and uncovering new cell-specific biomarkers. This cellular atlas enhances our understanding of cellular heterogeneity of fat and midgut, serving as a basis for future functional and comparative analyses. As the first snRNA-seq study on the midgut and fat body of S. frugiperda, it will also support future research, contribute to lepidopteran studies, and aid in developing targeted pest control strategies.
昆虫的中肠和脂肪体控制着关键的生理过程，包括生长、消化、新陈代谢和应激反应。单细胞核RNA测序（snRNA-seq）是一种在细胞水平上揭示器官复杂性的有前景的方法，但鳞翅目昆虫的数据尚缺。我们利用snRNA-seq评估了草地贪夜蛾中肠和脂肪体的细胞多样性。我们的研究在中肠中鉴定出20个不同的细胞簇，包括肠上皮细胞、肠内分泌细胞、干细胞样细胞和肌肉细胞，在脂肪体中鉴定出27个细胞簇，包括脂肪细胞、血细胞和上皮细胞。这个包含中肠和脂肪体中所有已鉴定细胞类型的数据集，对于描述这些器官的细胞组成和发现新的细胞特异性生物标志物具有重要价值。这个细胞图谱增进了我们对脂肪体和中肠细胞异质性的理解，为未来的功能和比较分析奠定了基础。作为第一项关于草地贪夜蛾中肠和脂肪体的snRNA-seq研究，它也将支持未来的研究，为鳞翅目研究做出贡献，并有助于制定有针对性的害虫控制策略。
