Lu Guoqing, Liu Yuntao, Guo Wenfang, Wang Peilin, Han Lida, Su Xiaofeng, Cheng Hongmei, Guo Huiming
National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Academician Workstation, National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, China.
Pest Manag Sci. 2025 Sep;81(9):5103-5113. doi: 10.1002/ps.8865. Epub 2025 May 4.
Herbivorous insects cause substantial losses in cotton production worldwide. To resolve insect resistance and environmental pollution challenges, an innovative and eco-friendly strategy for pest management is needed. Insects acquire sterols from dietary sources because they cannot endogenously synthesize them de novo. CrSMT, a sterol methyltransferase gene, can alter sterol profiles. We introduced CrSMT into cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) to modify sterol content. This has enabled the investigation of the potential of CrSMT in pest management.
CrSMT-transgenic lines were generated via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and CrSMT was successfully expressed in the transgenic lines L17 and L25. The proportional expression of the three main phytosterols was altered in transgenic cotton. RNA sequencing results showed that numerous pathways associated with insect resistance were enriched in the L17 and L25 transgenic lines, and these pathways contribute to the ability of plants to produce large quantities of volatile secondary metabolites, helping them build defense responses against herbivorous insects. Spodoptera litura preferred R15 (wild-type) to L17 and L25 leaves in selective and non-selective feeding assays. Feeding experiments revealed that growth and development were delayed in S. litura fed transgenic cotton. Similar results were obtained for Apolygus lucorum and Helicoverpa armigera. Larval growth and development were delayed, and the length significantly decreased. In addition, the mortality rate of A. lucorum increased.
The results of functional and molecular mechanism analyses of CrSMT overexpression in cotton indicate that CrSMT transgenesis is a promising broad-spectrum and eco-friendly insect-resistance strategy that can alter the sterol content of plant tissues without adverse effects on plants. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.
植食性昆虫在全球棉花生产中造成了巨大损失。为解决抗虫性和环境污染挑战，需要一种创新且环保的害虫管理策略。昆虫无法内源性从头合成甾醇，需从食物来源获取。CrSMT是一种甾醇甲基转移酶基因，可改变甾醇谱。我们将CrSMT导入棉花（陆地棉）以改变甾醇含量，从而研究CrSMT在害虫管理中的潜力。
通过农杆菌介导的转化产生了CrSMT转基因株系，且CrSMT在转基因株系L17和L25中成功表达。转基因棉花中三种主要植物甾醇的比例表达发生了改变。RNA测序结果表明，L17和L25转基因株系中富集了许多与抗虫性相关的途径，这些途径有助于植物产生大量挥发性次生代谢物，帮助它们建立对植食性昆虫的防御反应。在选择性和非选择性取食试验中，斜纹夜蛾更喜欢取食R15（野生型）而非L17和L25的叶片。饲喂实验表明，取食转基因棉花的斜纹夜蛾生长发育延迟。绿盲蝽和棉铃虫也得到了类似结果。幼虫生长发育延迟，体长显著缩短。此外，绿盲蝽的死亡率增加。
棉花中CrSMT过表达的功能和分子机制分析结果表明，CrSMT转基因是一种有前景的广谱且环保的抗虫策略，可改变植物组织的甾醇含量而对植物无不良影响。© 2025化学工业协会。
