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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #339719
Research Project: Ecologically Based Pest Management in Western Crops Such as Cotton

Location: Pest Management and Biocontrol Research

Title: Knockdown of a metathoracic scent gland desaturase enhances the production of (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal and suppresses female sexual attraction in the plant bug, Adelphocoris suturalis

Author
item LUO, JING - Huazhong Agricultural University
item LI, ZHE - Huazhong Agricultural University
item MA, CHAO - Huazhong Agricultural University
item ZHANG, ZHILIN - Hubei University
item Hull, Joe
item LEI, CHAOLIANG - Huazhong Agricultural University
item JIN, SHUANGXIA - Huazhong Agricultural University
item CHEN, LIZHEN - Huazhong Agricultural University

Submitted to: Insect Molecular Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/4/2017
Publication Date: 10/1/2017
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5800230
Citation: Luo, J., Li, Z., Ma, C., Zhang, Z., Hull, J.J., Lei, C., Jin, S., Chen, L. 2017. Knockdown of a metathoracic scent gland desaturase enhances the production of (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal and suppresses female sexual attraction in the plant bug, Adelphocoris suturalis. Insect Molecular Biology. 26(5):642-653.

Interpretive Summary: Insect sex pheromones (SPs) are central to mate-finding behavior and play an essential role in the survival and reproduction of organisms. Understanding the roles, biosynthetic pathways, and evolution of insect chemical communication systems offers great potential in terms of pest management. Although mirid plant bugs are globally important pests of numerous crops, little is known about the genes driving biosynthesis of their sex pheromone components. Using knowledge of sex pheromone biosynthesis genes from moths, a gene encoding a specific enzyme highly expressed in the tissue associated with plant bug sex pheromone production was identified. Disruption of the gene reduced the attractiveness of males to females in both lab and field assays and altered the normal ratio of pheromone components. These data provide base-line information to better understand the underlying genetics of plant bug sex pheromone production. These insights can provide insights into similar mechanisms in other pest species and facilitate the development of improved biologically-based management strategies.

Technical Abstract: Insect sex pheromones (SPs) are central to mate-finding behavior, and play an essential role in the survival and reproduction of organisms. Understanding the roles, biosynthetic pathways, and evolution of insect chemical communication systems has been an exciting challenge for biologists. Compared with Lepidoptera, little is known about the mechanisms underlying pheromone biosynthesis in Hemiptera. In this study, we isolated and characterized two new desaturase-like genes, termed Asutdes1 and Asutdes2, from Adelphocoris suturalis, an important agricultural pest in China. Although the two genes encode an identical protein, Southern blot analysis revealed that they are duplicated genes. The Asutdes2 transcript was more abundant than Asutdes1 in the tissues tested, in particular the metathoracic scent gland (MTG) and fat body. Silencing Asutdes expression in females by injecting dsRNA (dsAsutdes) against a portion of the coding sequence shared by the two genes enhanced the production of (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal, a component of the A. suturalis SP blend, and dramatically suppressed the sexual attraction of A. suturalis males. We conclude that dsAsutdes is associated with the SP biosynthetic pathway in A. suturalis.