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Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology
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Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2024) | Viewed by 6290

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elena N. Elpidina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
Interests: insects; transcriptomics; mass spectrometry; peptidases; enzymology; digestive system; gluten hydrolysis
Dr. Yakov E. Dunaevsky

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
Interests: enzymology; gluten hydrolysis; peptidases; transcriptomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transcriptomics is a widespread discipline that enables researchers to characterize transcriptional activity, focus on a subset of relevant target genes and transcripts, or profile thousands of genes at once, in order to create a global picture of cell function. This Special Issue will collect papers on different strategies in the use of transcriptomics in the study of insect biology. Insects attract attention as the most numerous group in the animal kingdom, and in southern countries they cause great damage to crops. Recently, some species of insects have attracted attention as a potential cheap food item. Some of the most popular topics for this issue are listed below, but other aspects of the application of transcriptomics to insect biology are also welcome.

  • Transcriptomics in the study of insect biology.
  • Transcriptomic analysis of insect genes during metamorphosis.
  • Transcriptomics in the study of insect digestion.
  • Transcriptomics in the study of insect enzymes.
  • Transcriptomic analyses of chitin metabolism.
  • Serial insect gene expression analysis: advances.
  • Transcriptomic methods for the study of gene functions.
  • Transcriptomics and pathways that respond to and/or mitigate stress.
  • Non-coding RNAs in insects.
  • Transcriptomics in pest control research.
  • Transcriptomics in increasing crop yields.

Dr. Elena N. Elpidina
Dr. Yakov E. Dunaevsky
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • insects
  • transcriptomics
  • gene expression
  • metamorphosis
  • insect digestion
  • pest control
  • non-coding RNAs

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 3645 KiB  
Article
Drosophila melanogaster Transcriptome Response to Different Wolbachia Strains
by Nataly E. Gruntenko, Maksim A. Deryuzhenko, Olga V. Andreenkova, Olga D. Shishkina, Margarita A. Bobrovskikh, Natalja V. Shatskaya and Gennady V. Vasiliev
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(24), 17411; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242417411 - 12 Dec 2023
Viewed by 776
Abstract
Wolbachia is a maternally inherited, intercellular bacterial symbiont of insects and some other invertebrates. Here, we investigated the effect of two different Wolbachia strains, differing in a large chromosomal inversion, on the differential expression of genes in D. melanogaster females. We revealed significant [...] Read more.
Wolbachia is a maternally inherited, intercellular bacterial symbiont of insects and some other invertebrates. Here, we investigated the effect of two different Wolbachia strains, differing in a large chromosomal inversion, on the differential expression of genes in D. melanogaster females. We revealed significant changes in the transcriptome of the infected flies compared to the uninfected ones, as well as in the transcriptome of flies infected with the Wolbachia strain, wMelPlus, compared to flies infected with the wMelCS112 strain. We linked differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from two pairwise comparisons, “uninfected—wMelPlus-infected” and “uninfected—wMelCS112-infected”, into two gene networks, in which the following functional groups were designated: “Proteolysis”, “Carbohydrate transport and metabolism”, “Oxidation–reduction process”, “Embryogenesis”, “Transmembrane transport”, “Response to stress” and “Alkaline phosphatases”. Our data emphasized similarities and differences between infections by different strains under study: a wMelPlus infection results in more than double the number of upregulated DEGs and half the number of downregulated DEGs compared to a wMelCS112 infection. Thus, we demonstrated that Wolbachia made a significant contribution to differential expression of host genes and that the bacterial genotype plays a vital role in establishing the character of this contribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology)
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24 pages, 5251 KiB  
Article
Expression Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes in BPH and WBPH Associated with Resistance in Rice RILs Derived from a Cross between RP2068 and TN1
by Rashi Anand, Dhanasekar Divya, Sudeshna Mazumdar-Leighton, Jagadish S. Bentur and Suresh Nair
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(18), 13982; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813982 - 12 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1803
Abstract
BPH (brown planthopper) and WBPH (white backed planthopper) are significant rice pests that often co-occur as sympatric species and cause substantial yield loss. Despite their genetic similarities, different host-resistance genes confer resistance against these two hoppers. The defense mechanisms in rice against these [...] Read more.
BPH (brown planthopper) and WBPH (white backed planthopper) are significant rice pests that often co-occur as sympatric species and cause substantial yield loss. Despite their genetic similarities, different host-resistance genes confer resistance against these two hoppers. The defense mechanisms in rice against these pests are complex, and the molecular processes regulating their responses remain largely unknown. This study used specific recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between rice varieties RP2068-18-3-5 (BPH- and WBPH-resistant) and TN1 (BPH- and WBPH-susceptible) to investigate the mechanisms of interaction between these planthoppers and their rice hosts. WBPH and BPH were allowed to feed on specific RILs, and RNA-Seq was carried out on WBPH insects. Transcriptome profiling and qRT-PCR results revealed differential expression of genes involved in detoxification, digestion, transportation, cuticle formation, splicing, and RNA processing. A higher expression of sugar transporters was observed in both hoppers feeding on rice with resistance against either hopper. This is the first comparative analysis of gene expressions in these insects fed on genetically similar hosts but with differential resistance to BPH and WBPH. These results complement our earlier findings on the differential gene expression of the same RILs (BPH- or WBPH-infested) utilized in this study. Moreover, identifying insect genes and pathways responsible for countering host defense would augment our understanding of BPH and WBPH interaction with their rice hosts and enable us to develop lasting strategies to control these significant pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology)
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25 pages, 6983 KiB  
Article
Natural Coumarin Shows Toxicity to Spodoptera litura by Inhibiting Detoxification Enzymes and Glycometabolism
by Tao Xia, Yan Liu, Zhanjun Lu and Haizhong Yu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13177; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713177 - 24 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1045
Abstract
Coumarin and its derivatives are plant-derived compounds that exhibit potent insecticidal properties. In this study, we found that natural coumarin significantly inhibited the growth and development of Spodoptera litura larvae through toxicological assay. By transcriptomic sequencing, 80 and 45 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) [...] Read more.
Coumarin and its derivatives are plant-derived compounds that exhibit potent insecticidal properties. In this study, we found that natural coumarin significantly inhibited the growth and development of Spodoptera litura larvae through toxicological assay. By transcriptomic sequencing, 80 and 45 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to detoxification were identified from 0 to 24 h and 24 to 48 h in S. litura after coumarin treatment, respectively. Enzyme activity analysis showed that CYP450 and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities significantly decreased at 48 h after coumarin treatment, while glutathione S-transferases (GST) activity increased at 24 h. Silencing of SlCYP324A16 gene by RNA interference significantly increased S. litura larval mortality and decreased individual weight after treatment with coumarin. Additionally, the expression levels of DEGs involved in glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were inhibited at 24 h after coumarin treatment, while their expression levels were upregulated at 48 h. Furthermore, metabonomics analysis identified 391 differential metabolites involved in purine metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and TCA cycle from 0 to 24 h after treated with coumarin and 352 differential metabolites associated with ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and amino acid metabolism. These results provide an in-depth understanding of the toxicological mechanism of coumarin on S. litura. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology)
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14 pages, 3418 KiB  
Article
Identification of Potential Gene Targets for Suppressing Oviposition in Holotrichia parallela Using Comparative Transcriptome Analysis
by Zhongjun Gong, Jing Zhang, Yanmin Li, Huiling Li, Ziqi Zhang, Yifan Qin, Yueli Jiang, Yun Duan, Tong Li, Jin Miao and Yuqing Wu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13138; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713138 - 24 Aug 2023
Viewed by 760
Abstract
Holotrichia parallela is an important plant pest. Comparative feeding experiments showed that the egg production, oviposition duration and survival rate of H. parallela beetles were significantly higher when they fed on elm leaves than when they fed on willow or purpus privet leaves. [...] Read more.
Holotrichia parallela is an important plant pest. Comparative feeding experiments showed that the egg production, oviposition duration and survival rate of H. parallela beetles were significantly higher when they fed on elm leaves than when they fed on willow or purpus privet leaves. RNA sequencing was used to determine transcriptomic changes associated with oviposition. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the beetles that fed on elm and willow had a total of 171 genes with differential expression. When the beetles fed on elm and purpus privet, 3568 genes had differential expression. The vitellogenesis, ovarian serine protease, odorant-binding proteins, acyl-CoA synthetase and follicle cell proteins were commonly upregulated genes in elm-fed beetles compared with those fed on willow/purpus privet leaves. The involvement of the follicle cell protein 3C gene in the regulation of oviposition was confirmed using RNA interference. The results provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying oviposition in H. parallela feeding on different host plants. This study also describes a method for identifying potentially effective genes for pest control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology)
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17 pages, 8820 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Changes in Detoxification Metabolism and Transmembrane Transport of Bombyx mori Malpighian Tubules to Artificial Diet
by Lijing Liu, Dongchao Zhao, Genhong Wang, Qingxiu He, Yuwei Song, Yulu Jiang, Qingyou Xia and Ping Zhao
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(12), 9949; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24129949 - 09 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1209
Abstract
The high adaptability of insects to food sources has contributed to their ranking among the most abundant and diverse species on Earth. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the rapid adaptation of insects to different foods remain unclear. We explored the changes in gene [...] Read more.
The high adaptability of insects to food sources has contributed to their ranking among the most abundant and diverse species on Earth. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the rapid adaptation of insects to different foods remain unclear. We explored the changes in gene expression and metabolic composition of the Malpighian tubules as an important metabolic excretion and detoxification organ in silkworms (Bombyx mori) fed mulberry leaf and artificial diets. A total of 2436 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 245 differential metabolites were identified between groups, with the majority of DEGs associated with metabolic detoxification, transmembrane transport, and mitochondrial function. Detoxification enzymes, such as cytochrome P450 (CYP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and UDP-glycosyltransferase, and ABC and SLC transporters of endogenous and exogenous solutes were more abundant in the artificial diet group. Enzyme activity assays confirmed increased CYP and GST activity in the Malpighian tubules of the artificial diet-fed group. Metabolome analysis showed increased contents of secondary metabolites, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, organic acids, lipids, and food additives in the artificial diet group. Our findings highlight the important role of the Malpighian tubules in adaptation to different foods and provide guidance for further optimization of artificial diets to improve silkworm breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transcriptomics in the Study of Insect Biology)
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