Xu Fang, Yu Wei, Ma Chenkai, Hu Chengjie, Cui Chunguang, Du Xin, Chen Jine, Zhu Linbao, Yu Shaofang, He Xingjian, Wang Yongqiang, Xu Xia
College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Institute of Sericulture and Tea, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China.
Cells. 2025 May 28;14(11):793. doi: 10.3390/cells14110793.
Protein kinase A (PKA), commonly referred to as cAMP-dependent protein kinase, exists as a heterotetramer composed of two catalytic (C) and regulatory subunits (R). This versatile kinase exhibits regulatory functions in various biological processes including growth, division, and differentiation. Although PKA is well established as a master regulator of oocyte maturation across species, its functional role in insect parthenogenesis has remained enigmatic. Here, we systematically investigated the regulatory effect of PKA in the induction of parthenogenesis in model lepidopteran . Our findings demonstrated an inverse correlation between PKA activity and parthenogenetic induction efficiency in silkworms. Notably, PKA activation resulted in delayed embryonic development, whereas knockdown disrupted normal cell cycle progression. These results indicated that maintaining appropriate PKA activity is essential for ensuring proper cell division process, especially in the successful induction of silkworm parthenogenesis. The evolutionary conservation of PKA across species, coupled with its critical regulatory role in parthenogenesis, positions this kinase as a promising molecular target for breeding design. Our findings establish a foundation for developing silkworm strains with enhanced parthenogenetic capacity through PKA modulation, thereby facilitating the preservation of elite production traits. These results provide novel mechanistic insights into parthenogenesis while demonstrating the potential application of PKA regulation in both genetic studies and breeding programs.
蛋白激酶A（PKA），通常被称为环磷酸腺苷依赖性蛋白激酶，以由两个催化（C）亚基和调节（R）亚基组成的异源四聚体形式存在。这种多功能激酶在包括生长、分裂和分化在内的各种生物过程中发挥调节功能。尽管PKA作为跨物种卵母细胞成熟的主要调节因子已得到充分确立，但其在昆虫孤雌生殖中的功能作用仍然成谜。在此，我们系统地研究了PKA在模式鳞翅目昆虫孤雌生殖诱导中的调节作用。我们的研究结果表明，家蚕中PKA活性与孤雌生殖诱导效率呈负相关。值得注意的是，PKA激活导致胚胎发育延迟，而敲低则破坏了正常的细胞周期进程。这些结果表明，维持适当的PKA活性对于确保正常的细胞分裂过程至关重要，尤其是在成功诱导家蚕孤雌生殖方面。PKA在物种间的进化保守性，以及其在孤雌生殖中的关键调节作用，使这种激酶成为育种设计中有前景的分子靶点。我们的研究结果为通过调节PKA开发具有增强孤雌生殖能力的家蚕品系奠定了基础，从而有助于保留优良的生产性状。这些结果为孤雌生殖提供了新的机制见解，同时展示了PKA调节在遗传研究和育种计划中的潜在应用。
