Güney Gözde, Schmitt Kerstin, Zicola Johan, Toprak Umut, Rostás Michael, Scholten Stefan, Cedden Doga
Agricultural Entomology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Commun Biol. 2025 Aug 27;8(1):1288. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-08721-5.
Aestivation, or summer diapause, is a dormancy strategy that enables animals to survive hot and dry summer conditions. Despite its ecological importance, the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying aestivation remain poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators involved in various biological processes, including development. Here, we investigated the role of miRNAs in obligatory aestivation in the cabbage stem flea beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala), a major pest of oilseed rape. Small RNA sequencing revealed that approximately 25% of miRNAs were differentially abundant during aestivation. RNA interference-mediated inhibition of the miRNA pathway, combined with proteomics, identified 116 miRNA-regulated proteins involved in metabolic and catabolic processes. Integrated transcriptome analysis suggested that 71% of these miRNA-regulated proteins were also downregulated at the mRNA level, while the remaining 29% were likely regulated primarily through translational inhibition. Degradome sequencing confirmed miRNA-mediated regulation of several transcripts and suggested exonucleolytic decay as the predominant mechanism. Disruption of the miRNA pathway impaired key aestivation traits, including metabolic suppression, changes in body composition, behavior inhibition, and heat tolerance. These findings suggest a central role for miRNAs in regulating insect dormancy, with implications for understanding climate change impacts on insect physiology and for developing novel pest control strategies.
夏眠，即夏季滞育，是一种使动物能够在炎热干燥的夏季环境中生存的休眠策略。尽管其具有重要的生态学意义，但夏眠背后的基因调控机制仍知之甚少。微小RNA（miRNA）是参与包括发育在内的各种生物过程的转录后调节因子。在此，我们研究了miRNA在甘蓝茎跳甲（Psylliodes chrysocephala）的强制性夏眠中的作用，甘蓝茎跳甲是油菜的主要害虫。小RNA测序显示，大约25%的miRNA在夏眠期间差异丰富。RNA干扰介导的miRNA途径抑制与蛋白质组学相结合，鉴定出116种参与代谢和分解代谢过程的miRNA调节蛋白。综合转录组分析表明，这些miRNA调节蛋白中有71%在mRNA水平也被下调，而其余29%可能主要通过翻译抑制进行调节。降解组测序证实了miRNA对几种转录本的介导调节，并表明核酸外切酶降解是主要机制。miRNA途径的破坏损害了关键的夏眠特征，包括代谢抑制、身体组成变化、行为抑制和耐热性。这些发现表明miRNA在调节昆虫休眠中起核心作用，这对于理解气候变化对昆虫生理学的影响以及开发新的害虫控制策略具有重要意义。
