Silencing of allatoregulating neuropeptide genes affects the fertility of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)
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1
University of Bayreuth, Animal Ecology I, Germany
Allatostatins (AS) and allatotropins (AT) are neuropeptides that inhibit or stimulate the biosynthesis of JH in the corpora allata, respectively. In the moth Spodoptera frugiperda, three types of AS (A, B, C) are expressed and two of AT (1, 2), grouped by structural features. The widespread expression of these genes in various tissues corroborate their multifunctional role.
After RNA interference (RNAi) in vivo, triggered by abdominal injection or feeding of dsRNA, the transcript level of the various allatoregulating neuropeptides was reduced in the brain for at least 4-6 days. AS and AT silencing in adult females increased or decreased the titer of the various JH isoforms in the hemolymph, depending on the age. As a result, oviposition was altered.
During mating of the moths, various substances, including JH, are transferred from the male to the female with the sperm. In the controls a high titer of JH was measured in the male accessory reproductive gland (MARG) prior to copulation, whereas in the female bursa copulatrix (BC) no JH was detected. After mating, MARG were depleted of JH, while the BC of the females contained high amounts of JH. Silencing of the AS and AT genes in male altered the amount of JH isoforms present in these organs. The modified JH titer was accompanied by a strong decrease in egg production and oviposition of these females that paired with AS-C and AT-2 silenced males, whereas the effect of AT-1 knockdown was the reverse.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the DFG Me2034/1-3 and the DAAD.
Keywords:
allatostatin,
allatotropin,
Gene Silencing,
juvenile hormone,
Lepidoptera,
Neuropeptide,
Reproduction,
Spodoptera frugiperda
Conference:
25th Conference of the European Comparative Endocrinologists, Pécs, Hungary, 31 Aug - 4 Sep, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Conference Presentation
Topic:
Comparative endocrinology
Citation:
Meyering-Vos
M,
Grötzner
M and
Hassanien
IT
(2010). Silencing of allatoregulating neuropeptide genes affects the fertility of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae).
Front. Endocrinol.
Conference Abstract:
25th Conference of the European Comparative Endocrinologists.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2010.01.00080
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Received:
10 Sep 2010;
Published Online:
13 Sep 2010.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Martina Meyering-Vos, University of Bayreuth, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth, Germany, martina.meyering-vos@uni-bayreuth.de