Chen Junjie, Liu Xiaoxiao, Han Shunda, Zhang Maosen, Liu Zhaohan, Li Yuyan, Zhang Lisheng
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory of Natural Enemy Insects, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2, West Yuan Ming Yuan Road, Beijing, 100193, P. R. China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Biosafety Risk Prevention and Control (North) of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 200241, China.
BMC Genomics. 2025 Apr 29;26(1):414. doi: 10.1186/s12864-025-11459-3.
As a typical natural predator of agricultural pests, the lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, has been commercially mass-reared and widely employed in in pest management. The lady beetles can enter a long-term reproductive diapause phase in response to short photoperiods and low temperatures, for maintaining population during the overwintering process. Insect diapause is a physiological adaptative strategy that is characterized by a cessation of ovarian development, lipid accumulation and extended lifespan. Diapause regulating improve the long-term storage of C. septempunctata and release of natural enemies at the right time. In our previous research, as a main output of the juvenile hormone pathway, Krüppel homolog 1 (Kr-h1) was a key component of reproduction and diapause in C. septempunctata. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of C. septempunctata reproduction and diapause by Kr-h1 transcription factor remains unknown. In this study, we utilized RNA-Sequencing to investigate the transcriptomic changes in C. septempunctata following RNA interference targeting the Kr-h1 gene. DEGs analysis revealed significant transcriptional alterations between the Kr-h1 knockdown group and the control group. Noteworthy findings include the downregulation of three genes related to reproduction (follicle cell protein,vitelline membrane protein, and vitellogenin) in the dsKr-h1 group, while genes involved in lipid metabolism, such as lipase and fatty acid synthase, were upregulated. These results suggested that Kr-h1 plays a critical role in the regulation of both reproductive processes and lipid metabolism in C. septempunctata. Our findings provided valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating reproduction and diapause in C. septempunctata and contributed to the expanding understanding of the role of CsKr-h1 in insect physiology.
七星瓢虫作为农业害虫的典型天然捕食者，已被商业化大规模饲养并广泛应用于害虫治理。七星瓢虫可响应短日照和低温进入长期生殖滞育阶段，以便在越冬过程中维持种群数量。昆虫滞育是一种生理适应策略，其特征是卵巢发育停止、脂质积累和寿命延长。滞育调控改善了七星瓢虫的长期储存并能在合适时间释放天敌。在我们之前的研究中，作为保幼激素途径的主要产物，克虏伯同源蛋白1（Kr-h1）是七星瓢虫生殖和滞育的关键组成部分。然而，Kr-h1转录因子调控七星瓢虫生殖和滞育的分子机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们利用RNA测序技术研究了靶向Kr-h1基因的RNA干扰后七星瓢虫的转录组变化。差异表达基因分析揭示了Kr-h1基因敲低组和对照组之间存在显著的转录改变。值得注意的发现包括，在dsKr-h1组中，三个与生殖相关的基因（卵泡细胞蛋白、卵黄膜蛋白和卵黄原蛋白）表达下调，而参与脂质代谢的基因，如脂肪酶和脂肪酸合酶，则表达上调。这些结果表明，Kr-h1在七星瓢虫生殖过程和脂质代谢调控中起着关键作用。我们的研究结果为调控七星瓢虫生殖和滞育的分子机制提供了有价值的见解，并有助于进一步了解CsKr-h1在昆虫生理学中的作用。
