ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Invertebrate Physiology
JHAMT1 gene is needed for wing differentiation in Aphis gossypii
Provisionally accepted
Jichao Ji*
Jingli LvLiuyu Wang
Zhu XiangzhenLi WangMeishuang JianKaixin ZhangDongyang LiXueke GaoJunyu Luo- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research (CAAS), Anyang, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Aphis gossypii (cotton-melon aphid), is ranked among the top 10 most destructive agricultural pests worldwide, inflicting substantial damage on a wide range of host plants annually. Wing polyphenism is a key trait that facilitates its rapid population expansion and efficient transmission of viruses. However, the molecular mechanism underlying wing differentiation in this sap-sucking pest remain poorly understood. Results: The differentiation dynamics of newborn A. gossypii nymphs into to alate (winged) or apterous (wingless) morphs was characterized, coupled with pairwise morphological comparisons. The 2nd and 3rd instar nymphal stages were identified as the two critical turning points for wing morph determination. The number of differentially expressed genes between alate and apterous morphs increased with development process, peaking at the 4th instar nymphal stage before declining in adulthood. Notably, compared to the apterous morph, the up-regulated genes in alate morph at each developmental stage were consistently enriched in the juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis signaling pathway. Four JHAMT (juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase)—encoding the rate-limiting enzyme in JH biosynthesis—were identified in the A. gossypii genome. Among these, only JHAMT1 exhibited significantly elevated expression in the 2nd and 3rd instars nymphs of alate morph, which corresponds to the critical period of wing differentiation. Knockdown of JHAMT1 via dsJHAMT1 feeding in the 3rd instar alate nymphs results in a 79% reduction in its transcript level and significantly inhibited normal wing differentiation in 60.2% of the treated individuals. Notably, the wing buds of these affected nymphs even failed to develop and eventually disappeared in adulthood, demonstrating that JHAMT1 is indispensable for wing morph formation in A. gossypii. Conclusions: This study clarifies the complete differentiation process of A. gossypii into alate or apterous morphs and confirms that JHAMT1, a key regulatory gene in JH biosynthesis, plays a pivotal role in wing differentiation of the alate morph. Given its essential function in wing development, JHAMT1 holds great potential as a molecular target for developing strategies to control the outbreak and spread of the cotton aphid.
Keywords: Aphis gossypii, JHAMT, RNAi, Temporal transcriptome analysis, wing differentiation
Received: 16 Nov 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ji, Lv, Wang, Xiangzhen, Wang, Jian, Zhang, Li, Gao and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jichao Ji
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.